Working while attending college can help you avoid student loans, but if you’re not careful, the job itself can become expensive. Aside from covering transportation costs, your wardrobe could require major upgrades, whether you’re aiming for business casual or even more formal attire.
With these six tips, however, you can tailor your college wardrobe to your off-campus work style, all without cramping your finances.
1. Know the dress code
2. Start with what’s already in your closet
3. Set a budget for your office-inspired college wardrobe
4. Purchase high-quality, versatile classics
5. Never pay full price for the best of your college wardrobe
6. Be careful how you pay for your college wardrobe
1. Know the dress code
The most important thing to consider before you start building a work wardrobe is the dress code of your industry and potential new employer.
“For example, the dress code for most positions in a technology company is business casual to casual,” Susan Heathfield, a longtime human resources expert told Student Loan Hero. “If you’re looking for a position in industries where you need to look very formally professional because people are judging your competence by your appearance, then it’s a very different approach to building a wardrobe.”
If you’re pursuing internships at a financial consulting firm or law office, for instance, you might err on the side of formal attire. It’s generally better to be overdressed (trying hard to impress) than underdressed (not making enough effort).
Generally, you’ll need one or two outfits to attend interviews, and it’s smart to ask questions ahead of the interview about attire expectations. Most recruiters and managers would prefer a candidate who asks about the dress code and shows up in appropriate attire.
If your prospective employer doesn’t offer clear guidance, university campus resources such as career services can at least help you define business casual on campus.
Wait until you have that internship or part-time job offer in hand to expand your office wear beyond that. Request a copy of the company dress code from your new employer so you can be sure that anything you purchase will be in line with its standards.
2. Start with what’s already in your closet
Before setting foot in a store, take a second look at what you already own.
Casual dress codes are becoming more commonplace, Heathfield said, which could make it easier to transition college wardrobe styles from the classroom to the workplace, especially if you’re only in the office a few days per week.
“Most people have a couple of basic pieces in their wardrobe that would properly transfer to a workplace environment,” Heathfield said.
For instance, the right slacks could pair well with a…
- Cardigan
- Sweater
- Button-up shirt
- Blouse
“I think if you look at the individual pieces of clothing that you have and dress them up one notch, they’re going to work well,” she added.
Conserving and perhaps redesigning your existing clothing is one sure-fire way to save on college’s other costs.
3. Set a budget for your office-inspired college wardrobe
As you get a better idea of what clothes you have to work with, you might start seeing gaps in your college wardrobe that need to be filled.
Make a list of the items you need to purchase, along with a few that would be nice to have. Decide how much is reasonable to spend on each item. Then, tally up what you can expect to spend overall and compare that to the cash you have on hand.
If your funds fall short, go back to the drawing board and decide on which items you’ll buy first – and then save up for more purchases down the road.
You could also review your college budget to see where you could cut back for a week or a month to free up funds for your new office apparel. Make sure that any money you plan to spend on your new and improved wardrobe won’t leave you short on bills, student loan payments or other expenses.
And remember, your new boss knows your college student status. They won’t expect you to be able to afford Armani and the like.
4. Purchase high-quality, versatile classics
Budget for high-quality, classic styles that can act as the core of your college wardrobe for office use.
“If you are building a basic wardrobe, you want to start with the best pieces you can afford,” Heathfield said.
These would be basic-yet-classic pieces such as a…
- Suit
- Blazer
- Dress slacks
- Office-appropriate shoes
For these items, aim for high quality. You don’t have to upgrade to designer-label workwear, but you should end up with clothes that can last you for a while.
Be sure to choose building pieces that are classic, neutral and versatile, too.
“The more ways a piece of clothing will look good on you, the more ways you will use it,” Heathfield said.
5. Never pay full price for the best of your college wardrobe
Just because you’re aiming for quality doesn’t mean you have to pay a premium to get it. Here are some tips to spend less when shopping for your office-inspired college wardrobe:
- Shop at outlets for quality at a discount. T.J. Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, J. Crew Factory and other stores offer name brands at big discounts. Clothing companies like these are also among stores with student discounts.
- Hit the clearance rack. Before wandering around a store, check out the clearance rack. And look for advertisements on sales, especially those that offer an additional discount on clearance items.
- Sell old clothes to pay for your new attire. If you have outdated or unworn pieces in your closet, you can sell your clothes for cash or store credit. That could make buying appropriate attire more affordable.
- Take advantage of coupons and codes. Check coupon code sites if you’re shopping online. Consider signing up for a store’s email list to get coupons sent to your inbox. You can even install shopping browser extensions that’ll alert you to deals for the site you’re on.
- Shop through cashback sites. Visit Rakuten, Swagbucks and others to find deals and earn rewards for shopping.
- Lived-in clothes could get you by, at least temporarily: If you’re close to an interview or start date, you might hop over to the local thrift store to find hidden gems. You could also search fashion consignment websites like Poshmark and ThredUp for secondhand items that match your new job wardrobe needs.
6. Be careful how you pay for your college wardrobe
Any credit card balance you carry will incur steep interest charges that’ll add to the costs of completing your sophisticated college wardrobe. Consider paying with debit or cash. If you pay with credit, only charge what you can pay off in full each month – that way, you’ll avoid credit card interest.
You might also be tempted to use extra student loan money on much-needed business casual clothing for college. More than 1 in 4 current students use education debt to finance new clothing, according to a 2019 Student Loan Hero survey.
Despite the temptation, it’s generally best to avoid using loans for nonessential expenses. That’s because paying with borrowed money increases the cost of the clothes, in this case, perhaps beyond your ability to immediately pay it back.
Andrew Pentis contributed to this report.
Interested in refinancing student loans?
Here are the top 9 lenders of 2022!| Lender | Variable APR | Eligible Degrees | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.74% – 8.70%1 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.74% – 7.99%2 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.74% – 7.99%3 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.89% – 5.90%4 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.74% – 7.99%5 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.05% – 5.25%6 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.86% – 6.01% | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | N/A7 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.99% – 8.38%8 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
| Check out the testimonials and our in-depth reviews! 1 Important Disclosures for Splash Financial. Splash Financial DisclosuresTerms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Rates and terms are also subject to change at any time without notice. Offers are subject to credit approval. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, income and other factors. Refinancing or consolidating private and federal student loans may not be the right decision for everyone. 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Earnest DisclosuresStudent Loan Refinance Interest Rate Disclosure Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 2.99% APR to 8.24% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 1.99% APR to 8.24% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Let us know if you have any questions and feel free to reach out directly to our team. 3 Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi DisclosuresFixed rates range from 3.49% APR to 7.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates from 1.74% APR to 7.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates on 5-, 7-, and 10-year terms are capped at 8.95% APR; 15- and 20-year terms are capped at 9.95% APR. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. 4 Important Disclosures for Laurel Road. Laurel Road DisclosuresAll credit products are subject to credit approval. Laurel Road began originating student loans in 2013 and has since helped thousands of professionals with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees consolidate and refinance more than $4 billion in federal and private school loans. Laurel Road also offers a suite of online graduate school loan products and personal loans that help simplify lending through customized technology and personalized service. In April 2019, Laurel Road was acquired by KeyBank, one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies. Laurel Road is a brand of KeyBank National Association offering online lending products in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. All loans are provided by KeyBank National Association, a nationally chartered bank. Member FDIC. For more information, visit www.laurelroad.com. As used throughout these Terms & Conditions, the term “Lender” refers to KeyBank National Association and its affiliates, agents, guaranty insurers, investors, assigns, and successors in interest.
Assumptions: Repayment examples above assume a loan amount of $10,000 with repayment beginning immediately following disbursement. Repayment examples do not include the 0.25% AutoPay Discount. Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): This term represents the actual cost of financing to the borrower over the life of the loan expressed as a yearly rate. Interest Rate: A simple annual rate that is applied to an unpaid balance. Variable Rates: The current index for variable rate loans is derived from the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and changes in the LIBOR index may cause your monthly payment to increase. Borrowers who take out a term of 5, 7, or 10 years will have a maximum interest rate of 9%, those who take out a 15 or 20-year variable loan will have a maximum interest rate of 10%. KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. This information is current as of April 29, 2021. Information and rates are subject to change without notice. 5 Important Disclosures for Navient. 6 Important Disclosures for LendKey. LendKey DisclosuresRefinancing via LendKey.com is only available for applicants with qualified private education loans from an eligible institution. Loans that were used for exam preparation classes, including, but not limited to, loans for LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE preparation, are not eligible for refinancing with a lender via LendKey.com. If you currently have any of these exam preparation loans, you should not include them in an application to refinance your student loans on this website. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents in an eligible state to qualify for a loan. Certain membership requirements (including the opening of a share account and any applicable association fees in connection with membership) may apply in the event that an applicant wishes to accept a loan offer from a credit union lender. 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As of 5/17/2022 student loan refinancing rates range from 2.05% APR – 5.25% Variable APR with AutoPay and 2.49% APR – 7.93% Fixed APR with AutoPay. 7 Important Disclosures for PenFed. PenFed DisclosuresFixed Rate Loan Terms: 5 years/60 monthly payments, 8 years/96 monthly payments, 12 years/144 monthly payments or 15 years/180 monthly payments. Annual Percentage Rate is the cost of credit calculating the interest rate, loan amount, repayment term and the timing of payments. Fixed rates range from 3.29% to 5.43% APR. Rates are subject to change without notice. Fixed APR: Fixed rates will not change during the term. This rate is expressed as an APR. Since there are no fees associated with this loan offer, the APR is the same percentage as the actual interest rate of the loan. These rates are subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. 8 Important Disclosures for CitizensBank. CitizensBank DisclosuresEducation Refinance Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 1.99%-8.38% (1.99%-8.38% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 2.99%-8.63% (2.99%-8.63% APR). IS Variable Rate Disclosure: Variable Rates advertised are based on the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) published in The Wall Street Journal on the twenty-fifth day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month. As of December 1, 2021, the one-month LIBOR rate is 0.09%. Variable interest rates will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the LIBOR rate, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree and presence of a co-signer. Your final variable rate may be based upon the 30-day average SOFR index, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The maximum variable rate is the greater of 21.00% or Prime Rate plus 9.00%. ERL Variable Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates are based on the 30-day average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) index, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As of May 1, 2022, the 30-day average SOFR index is 0.29%. Variable interest rates will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the SOFR index, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree and presence of a co-signer. The maximum variable interest rate is the greater of 21.00% or the prime rate plus 9.00%. Fixed Rate Disclosure: Fixed rate ranges are based on applicable terms, level of degree, and presence of a co-signer. Lowest Rate Disclosure: Lowest rates are only available for the most creditworthy applicants, require a 5-year repayment term, immediate repayment, a graduate or medical degree (where applicable), and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Rates are subject to additional terms and conditions, and are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Federal Loan vs. Private Loan Benefits: Some federal student loans include unique benefits that the borrower may not receive with a private student loan, some of which we do not offer. Borrowers should carefully review federal benefits, especially if they work in public service, are in the military, are considering possible loan forgiveness options, are currently on or considering income based repayment options or are concerned about a steady source of future income and would want to lower their payments at some time in the future. When the borrower refinances, they waive any current and potential future benefits of their federal loans. For more information about federal student loan benefits and federal loan consolidation, visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/. We also have several resources available to help the borrower make a decision on our website including Should I Refinance My Student Loans? and our FAQs. Should I Refinance My Student Loans? includes a comparison of federal and private student loan benefits that we encourage the borrower to review. |
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