Almost all of us are attending college so that we can get a good job8212;a better job than we would get without a college education. We have been conditioned to believe this since our junior-high guidance counselors told us this. They put up a chart showing how much more money we would make with a college degree and sat back smugly waiting for our oohs and ahhs.
So is it that simple? Is getting a better job achieved by just “going to college”? The answer is, obviously, no.
Many stipulations exist beyond attendance. Getting good grades, making proper connections and making sure you’re well-liked enough to garner a few positive letters of recommendation are just a few. Of the other conditions required, one of the easiest to fulfill is dressing well.
I know as college students, some of us get swept up in our attempts to be unique and individualistic. Unfortunately, many people simply end up looking like jackasses.
In any other setting, this would be fine. I have no gripe with guys wearing flat-brimmed baseball caps and sweatpants down to The Gateway. However, in college, which is a professional setting, it is much less acceptable.
Sure, we don’t have a dress code (thank God), so everyone is free to wear what they want, and I am in no way suggesting that it should be otherwise. In fact, I prefer the heinous outfits I sometimes see at the U to the robot outfits forced upon BYU-Idaho students. But I do not condone them.
While attending college, we interact every day with professionals in the fields in which we study, and often, their first impression of us is our appearance. Would you really like to meet a potential employer wearing a shirt that reaches your knees? In a study conducted by CareerBuilder.com, 41 percent of employers said promotions come more often to employees who dress better or more professionally than their colleagues.
Not only can dressing well affect your future career, it also can affect your collegiate career. Although many professors will judge you simply based on your work, some might see a disheveled appearance as reason to give work less credence. I am not suggesting that everyone wear a suit to school; that would just be weird. Simply a nice pair of jeans and an expletive-free T-shirt is enough to be taken seriously as a college student.
Now don’t get me wrong8212;I’m all for blindly following trends. But at the cost of one’s future, many might want to reconsider. Wildly unflattering leggings do not qualify as pants. Sports jerseys do not qualify as shirts. Even ill-fitting jeans are inadvisable. Perhaps Mark Twain said it best: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
So prepare yourself, and don’t go to class naked.
Jonathan Deesing