Illinois Institute of Technology Admission
Illinois Institute of Technology Undergraduate Program
Illinois Institute of Technology Application

The Facts

The Illinois Institute of Technology is a fantastic school with an emphasis on science and engineering, located in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The school is home to approximately 1,670 undergraduate students, and over 4,430 graduate and part-time professional studies students. The school is considered to be one of the best engineering schools in the nation, and draws some incredibly talented and intelligent individuals from all over the world. It is included in a consortium that includes MIT and Cal Tech, among other distinguished schools. All students at IIT are required to take part in two semester-long team projects that often involve developing something for a major cooperation. The college also has a terrific school of architecture, as well as a school of design, which brings a more artistic side to the institute. Some of the most popular majors at IIT include architecture, computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Admission to IIT is quite competitive, as some of the brightest young minds in the country make up the applicant pool. Last year, over 2,600 students applied for admission to IIT, and approximately 1,500 of those students were accepted; of those, about 400 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1180 to 1420, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 25 to 30. Additionally, over 87% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.6.

IIT has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of around 12:1, and many of the specialized major classes are held in small, hands-on laboratory settings. Students say that their professors are generally very attentive to students, and genuinely care about their individual progress; however, some students do complain that there are the occasional teachers who seem to be more wrapped up in their own research and work than in guiding students.

The Social Scene

The city of Chicago is extremely diverse and offers students a huge number of social possibilities and urban excitement. There are plenty of great bars, clubs, restaurants, movie theaters, and concerts to be found, and students are very rarely bored on the weekends, if they aren't too busy studying that is... There are a fair amount of fraternities and sororities at the school, and they are known for throwing some pretty rocking parties that get students out of the library and into some wild times. Students say that while drinking is definitely a popular social activity, drugs are virtually nonexistent. IIT students, when they aren't working, are incredibly friendly, and often invite new students to hang out.

The dating scene is pretty terrific; you have everything from bona fide geeks to attractive intelligentsia. Nice.

What’s Good

“The people here are surprisingly friendly, and I rarely feel a sense of unhealthy competition.”

“The city is great, and the weekends are just jam-packed with possibilities, thank God.”

“The architecture program is unlike anything else. Check it out.”

What’s Bad

“People are way too uptight, and care about nothing but grades and their careers.”

“The Greeks can be pretty obnoxious. They think they own the whole school.”

“City life can get overwhelming, especially paired with the intense academics.”

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