Class Visits @ Columbia

Columbia has an open class visit policy -- meaning you just have to check into the admissions office before you go to the class and blend in with the current students and arent met by anyone that is a student and the like. I'm gonna be going to a few this week and trying to decide if i should suit up and stand out hardcore from the others or go with business casual / dress shirt or polo and jeans and dress shoes? Gonna be coming from work and no dress code at work, suit will look suspicious lol

11 Comments
 

Go polo shirt, maybe a casual button down. Don't be under-dressed, but I don't think there is any value to being over--dressed.

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shorttheworldUm not trying to stand out I was stating that it would make me stand out from the others

I don't understand the distinction you just tried to make.

You asked if you should wear a suit to sit in on class visits, to stand out, but that you were worried about it being suspicious at work since they have no dress code. I pointed out that it doesn't really matter what you wear to sit in on a class - they don't take notes for some future application that you may or may not ever submit.

Am I missing something? I may have just misunderstood the point of your original post.

 

I wasn't saying I wanted it to make me stand out or that the idea of wearing a suit was proper I was saying that it will make me staff out since I know that people dress casually to b school classes. But as to if schools take note of you visiting events and all they definitely do but it varies at different programs, MIT and Columbia like to be shown love but other schools do not, not that it's a make or break thing but just what I've heard

 
Best Response

OK, however you dance around the semantics, whether you were saying you "wanted" to stand out, or just that it "would" make you stand out, isn't relevant. I'm not even sure why you think that distinction matters. Either way, my answer addresses both of those scenarios.

My point was, there is no institutional knowledge about what you wear to a class visit. Meaning, 8 months after your visit (or however long it happens to be) when an admissions committee looks at your application, there is absolutely zero documentation related to what you wore that day. You're flattering yourself if you think they are just going to remember what you wore, so you must be assuming they take notes on your outfit. That's the only way they could "be shown the love" as you put it, because how else would they really have a conversation about who dressed better for their visit? All they do is take note of the fact that you visited, i.e. date, which classes, etc. but they definitely don't take note of how awesome your suit was that day. So, to answer your original question, wearing a suit won't make you stand out in any way that gets documented, so just wear whatever is comfortable / convenient for work.

 

yo douche, had you asked "what was proper", you would have gotten a few replies along the lines of "casual is fine" and thread would be done. Instead, you said:

trying to decide if i should suit up and stand out hardcore from the others or go with business casual / dress shirt or polo and jeans and dress shoes?

I replied and told you standing out by wearing a suit would be meaningless, since they aren't going to be taking notes on what you wear.

You threw a little tantrum, mixed in with some gibberish, and here we are.

good luck getting into Columbia; I'm sure they'll take a picture of you in your Armani suit and you'll be all set.

 

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