Hellloooooo there 
I’ve been curious for a while what the general consensus on the student pre vs post timeskip appearances and didn’t see it in a single place, so time to make a poll or two! (or 31 
)
Only Academy Students (or sewer rats) with distinct timeskip and academy portraits count (and Byleth I guess)
Poll time!
Church:
Black Eagles:
Blue Lions
Golden Deer
Ashen Wolves
I ended up liking more of the Time Skip versions as a lot of the Pre Time Skip versions, I didn’t like as much, so the Time Skip was an upgrade for almost everyone in the cast
Invariably post TS. There’s some closer ones, and there’s a few who are better pre TS (looking at you Mercedes), but for the most part, post TS is better.
Personally I think Mercy looks better Post Timeskip
But the hair floof 
Yeah what shinx said 
Post TS is obviously gonna be better 90% of the time, everyone is going through their ugly ass blunder years in HS where their hair is the shape of the poop loop from spongebob
Most of the post timeskip ones look better imo, except for Mercedes and Ingrid. I like their outfits but not their shorter hair lol
Then there’s Claude, Marianne, and Sylvain where I like both designs
And out of the Ashen Wolves, Yuri and Balthus both look good in both phases while I prefer both Hapi and Constance’s pre-TS designs
Nah not a fan personally.
This man gets me lol. Why did they cut her hair?
Huh, also TIL Constance also has purple in her hair. 
The hardest one for me was Constance
While I normally prefer long hair, Constance’s post TS design doesn’t hit the same
Its hard for me to choose for Bernie. I like TS Bernie… but PTS has the far better hairstyle
So far it seems no one likes Baby Cyril, though it seems I voted two previously not voted for.
Sorry 3, Petra, Annette, and Felix
Someone voted for the same annette now.
Post time skip Annette is freaking adorable.
Shame they cut Mercedes hair tho
Same as most ppl, I liked most time-skip versions, but there are definitely some I prefer in their pre time-skip forms.
Also, while I think Marianne looks great in both versions, she is clearly happier in her time skip, so time-skip!
M!Byleth. Both look terrible because of the mop hair, but Blue looks less terrible on him
F!Byleth. I like both about evenly, but the green looks much better on her than it does on M!Byleth
Cyril. No real difference, but he’s less annoying when he’s older
Edelgard. I don’t mind the Leia hair, but it is very busy and doesn’t really fit her
Hubert. ngl, post TS is husbando material
Ferdinand von Aegir. Post TS reminds me too much of Nephrite from Sailor Moon
Linhardt. Post TS. Unlike M!Byleth, he was saved from mop hair hell
Caspar. Pre TS is too shota for my tastes
Bernie. She looks (and somewhat feels) healthier post TS so I have to pick that one
Dorothea. I would have voted post TS, but no Jojo’s hat/10
Petra. Pre TS is too formal
Dimitri. Neither, but his DLC look wasn’t an option so noodles > edge
Dedue. About the same, but I like the detail of the scars in post TS
Felix. Post TS. Messier hair looks better on him
Ashe. While I think the pre TS fits him well, good mature look for good mature boi
Sylvain. I don’t like post TS. The face looks off to me
Mercie. Post TS, for her health. No more dead anime mom hair
Annette. She may be a cinnamon roll, but I don’t mean it literally. The curls make her look too young
Ingrid. I know she’s supposed to be a lady knight, but I like the braid in her pre TS better
Claude. Post TS is the only of the 3 major Lords that I prefer over pre. It’s a lot more subtle a change than Edie’s or Dimitri’s
Lorenz. see Linhardt
Raph. The sideburns fit him, but I still prefer him without them
Ignatz. Yes, post TS is a mop cut, but it looks slightly better than the avocado look. Slightly
Lysithea. Pre TS is too plain
Marianne. see Bernie
Hilda. Pre is fine, but her hair is more flattering in post
Leonie. I actually didn’t like her post TS look for a while, but it grew on me. Still don’t like that strap across her chest tho
Yuri. I don’t mind if a voice doesn’t quite fit the look, but I do feel like post TS matches up better
Balthus. The wild look in his post TS fits him better
Constance. Post TS isn’t bad, but it looks a bit flat compared to pre
Hapi. Her pre TS fits her personality perfectly, but she deserves to be Hapier
9 Pre
22 Post
Most post timeskip, a few pre (edelgard based purely on hair alone, linhardt for similar reasons).
Didn’t vote for lorenz at all because his hair is an affront to nature regardless.
I made the same thread a long time ago but at the time Ashen Wolves weren’t a thing so we actually needed to make a new poll 
Annette got the best glow up by far imo, she looks great post TS whereas I’m really not a fan of her pre TS design
