How Much Do a Kid's Looks Factor Into Admissions Decisions?

[Anonymous]

13:41 again. I should clarify, diversity is a great thing and I wish the schools had more not less. What I meant was that, if diversity is partly about giving opportunities to underrepresented groups, and partly about bringing in new points of view, your privileged kid who knows how to play the 1/4 URM card isn't going to contribute to these goals.

[Anonymous]

yes, polo shirt and khakis are just fine for a visit. The school probably will tell you want is appropriate anyway -- depending on the activities/weather/program, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes, polo shirt and khakis are just fine for a visit. The school probably will tell you want is appropriate anyway -- depending on the activities/weather/program, etc.

It really depends on the school. Polo and khakis at GDS, for example, will clearly mark you as an applicant/outsider, where tshirts rule the day. Tshirts at Beauvoir, however, probably gets an x next to your DC's name. No shirts at Burke probably gets you auto admitted!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, polo shirt and khakis are just fine for a visit. The school probably will tell you want is appropriate anyway -- depending on the activities/weather/program, etc.

It really depends on the school. Polo and khakis at GDS, for example, will clearly mark you as an applicant/outsider, where tshirts rule the day. Tshirts at Beauvoir, however, probably gets an x next to your DC's name. No shirts at Burke probably gets you auto admitted!

Nonsense. If a school has a dress code, follow it. Otherwise, sans dress code, pretty much every kid in NW dresses the same

[Anonymous]

If the school has a dress code, follow it. Example: If shirts without collars are not allowed...don't put DC in one on tour day. If nail polish is not allowed, don't have her wear it. If hair cuts must be neat, don't send your kid looking like Bieber circa 2010.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I have seen - yes- it matters at certain schools - and usually the whole family is attractive, athletic and dresses well.........

Looks count, of course. But for those who are not the best looking, they can fall back on "looks the part, professional and well dressed" and "talks the talk" or "speaks the language" Great car helps also. In our school, the power moms all look the same -- like they should be in a catalog -- Very few who are not attractive.

[Anonymous]

We shouldn't have brought the chips to the interview? But my DC offered them, all orange and sticky, to the admin director. We got in--we are very dark. Do not need to be light to shine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We shouldn't have brought the chips to the interview? But my DC offered them, all orange and sticky, to the admin director. We got in--we are very dark. Do not need to be light to shine

Love it. But how are things going now that your're part of the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the school has a dress code, follow it. Example: If shirts without collars are not allowed...don't put DC in one on tour day. If nail polish is not allowed, don't have her wear it. If hair cuts must be neat, don't send your kid looking like Bieber circa 2010.

Schools with a dress code (blazer or skirt) will tell you that you have to wear a blazer/skirt to visit.

[Anonymous]

For our upcoming visit, we were given minimal guidelines. We are going with khakis and a polo (not school colors).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I have seen - yes- it matters at certain schools - and usually the whole family is attractive, athletic and dresses well.........

Looks count, of course. But for those who are not the best looking, they can fall back on "looks the part, professional and well dressed" and "talks the talk" or "speaks the language" Great car helps also. In our school, the power moms all look the same -- like they should be in a catalog -- Very few who are not attractive.

Of the selective schools where DC interviewed, only at Maret, I think, was there some risk the AD would look out her window and see our family getting out of our crappy car. We would never have qualified for FA, so they might have concluded we'd be hopeless at the auction or annual fund, and they would have been right. At the other K-12 schools, our car was hidden in the garage or off-street parking. DC got into a Big 3 which didn't get to peek at our car. You can call me nuts, and sometimes I wonder, but mostly I'm joking about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I have seen - yes- it matters at certain schools - and usually the whole family is attractive, athletic and dresses well.........

Looks count, of course. But for those who are not the best looking, they can fall back on "looks the part, professional and well dressed" and "talks the talk" or "speaks the language" Great car helps also. In our school, the power moms all look the same -- like they should be in a catalog -- Very few who are not attractive.

Of the selective schools where DC interviewed, only at Maret, I think, was there some risk the AD would look out her window and see our family getting out of our crappy car. We would never have qualified for FA, so they might have concluded we'd be hopeless at the auction or annual fund, and they would have been right. At the other K-12 schools, our car was hidden in the garage or off-street parking. DC got into a Big 3 which didn't get to peek at our car. You can call me nuts, and sometimes I wonder, but mostly I'm joking about this.

Uh oh. We're screwed. We have chosen to put our money into education and not our house and cars. I guess we'll see next month how they feel about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I have seen - yes- it matters at certain schools - and usually the whole family is attractive, athletic and dresses well.........

Looks count, of course. But for those who are not the best looking, they can fall back on "looks the part, professional and well dressed" and "talks the talk" or "speaks the language" Great car helps also. In our school, the power moms all look the same -- like they should be in a catalog -- Very few who are not attractive.

Of the selective schools where DC interviewed, only at Maret, I think, was there some risk the AD would look out her window and see our family getting out of our crappy car. We would never have qualified for FA, so they might have concluded we'd be hopeless at the auction or annual fund, and they would have been right. At the other K-12 schools, our car was hidden in the garage or off-street parking. DC got into a Big 3 which didn't get to peek at our car. You can call me nuts, and sometimes I wonder, but mostly I'm joking about this.

Nah, according to DCUM standards, it's very "old money" to drive an older car .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, polo shirt and khakis are just fine for a visit. The school probably will tell you want is appropriate anyway -- depending on the activities/weather/program, etc.

It really depends on the school. Polo and khakis at GDS, for example, will clearly mark you as an applicant/outsider, where tshirts rule the day. Tshirts at Beauvoir, however, probably gets an x next to your DC's name. No shirts at Burke probably gets you auto admitted!

This is absolute nonsense. First of all, no school that purports to celebrate "diversity" should be labelling anyone as an "outsider" based on something as superficial as what clothes their mother had clean for them on a given morning in November when they went to GDS for their school visit.. If they do judge someone based on a polo shirt, then that puts the lie to all the claims they make about tolerance, differences and diversity.

Secondly, DC went to Beauvoir for 5 years and wore T-shirts and jeans ( many times with holes in one knee or both) nearly everyday, and his reports were glowing with no trace of an "X" anywhere near him for the fact that his Mom liked mini boden, and tea. Maybe three times a year DC wore a blazer and dress shoes for Thanksgiving chapel of graduation or something like that. That does not constiture a big deal or a "cultural shift". Its called you are inside a cathedral, dress nice. period. Similarly, I would not send my DC to a Bar Mtzfa in jeans and a T-shirt as that would be dissrepectful to the family, their religious community, and the other gathered guests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, polo shirt and khakis are just fine for a visit. The school probably will tell you want is appropriate anyway -- depending on the activities/weather/program, etc.

It really depends on the school. Polo and khakis at GDS, for example, will clearly mark you as an applicant/outsider, where tshirts rule the day. Tshirts at Beauvoir, however, probably gets an x next to your DC's name. No shirts at Burke probably gets you auto admitted!

This is absolute nonsense. First of all, no school that purports to celebrate "diversity" should be labelling anyone as an "outsider" based on something as superficial as what clothes their mother had clean for them on a given morning in November when they went to GDS for their school visit.. If they do judge someone based on a polo shirt, then that puts the lie to all the claims they make about tolerance, differences and diversity.

Secondly, DC went to Beauvoir for 5 years and wore T-shirts and jeans ( many times with holes in one knee or both) nearly everyday, and his reports were glowing with no trace of an "X" anywhere near him for the fact that his Mom liked mini boden, and tea. Maybe three times a year DC wore a blazer and dress shoes for Thanksgiving chapel of graduation or something like that. That does not constiture a big deal or a "cultural shift". Its called you are inside a cathedral, dress nice. period. Similarly, I would not send my DC to a Bar Mtzfa in jeans and a T-shirt as that would be dissrepectful to the family, their religious community, and the other gathered guests.

My son has worn t-shirts and sneakers pretty much every day to Beauvoir. Never crossed my mind that that woudl be a problem, and it's not.