Is it cotton (like jersey knit) or is it a shinier material?

It's shiny, silky material

If that's the case, if your school is a little more on the laid back side, and you're doing dressy shoes/accessories, I think it would be fine for pref.

I like it!

Is it ever a bad idea to be TOO dressed up? Like if I wear a nice dress on a day they say to wear a dressy top with shorts or capris?

We were talking about this in another thread - sometimes if they say to wear non-dress things, that's because you'll be sitting on the floor at some point and you don't need to have the worry of your butt hanging out. :)

The general rule is to choose the dressier of the two options they offer - if they say shorts or capris, go with capris and the dressy top/shoes/accessories.

Thank you soo much! I feel very clueless about all of this!