First-Year or Freshmen Applicants (Domestic)

First-year students are those that are currently enrolled in high school, or have completed high school and have not attended a college or university outside of their high school experience. Sometimes, these students are also referred to as "freshmen," regardless of their class standing upon entering the university. In general, students who take college courses during high school but are considered students at their high school fall into this category.

Domestic students are those that are U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. This includes those U.S. nationals living overseas in military or diplomatic zones.

Application — Free to Apply

Common Application Choose only one of the following:

Please mail supporting documents to:

Illinois Institute of Technology
Office of Undergraduate Admission
10 West 33rd Street
Perlstein Hall, Room 101
Chicago, IL 60616

Application Requirements and Steps

Application for Admission
Submit your complete application online or by paper. IIT accepts the Common Application and paper application, and considers both equally but greatly prefer online submissions. After you have written your essay, send it along with any supplemental information.
Counselor/Teacher Evaluation or Letter of Recommendation
Give the forms found in the application to a counselor and/or teacher who knows you well and can write about your strengths as a student. One letter is required but up to three are accepted. This form and letter can be submitted electronically by the teacher through the Common Application. Teacher Evaluation Form (PDF)
Secondary School Transcripts
Ask your high school counselor to submit your official secondary school transcripts to the Office of Undergraduate Admission. School Report Form (PDF)
Test Scores
Have official SAT I or ACT scores sent to the Office of Undergraduate Admision. IIT's SAT code is 1318; the ACT code is 1040.
If you are interested in any of our special programs, please click here. If you are interested in any of our dual-admission programs, please click here.

Finances and Scholarships

Financial aid for new students is processed by the Office of Financial Aid. IIT offers both need-based financial aid and merit-based scholarships.

Students who apply by the early action deadline have the best opportunity to receive the most IIT scholarship funds. More about Camras, Crown, Duchosois and other IIT scholarships.

High School Requirements

IIT is looking for students of high academic caliber with strong community ties and a hard work ethic. In the application, we evaluate not only your academic standing, but also your extracurricular, social, and community-based activities and leadership, as well as plans for your career path – whether it is a specific answer or not.

Students engaged in a college preparatory or general education curriculum generally make good candidates for IIT. Specifically, we recommend the following high school courses be completed:

4 years of English
4 years of Mathematics
3 years of Science

Homeschooled Applicants

While most of our applicants come from more traditional educational backgrounds, IIT does receive applications each year from students who have been homeschooled.

Homeschooled students are evaluated equally among other applicants, and the general recommendations for homeschoolers' pre-college academic curriculum are the same as for students from more traditional high school settings.

As with any applicant, however, IIT welcomes any supplemental materials that may help us to better review the application. Admission to IIT is competitive, and it is to the applicant's own benefit to provide us with the appropriate information to aid us in the fair and accurate evaluation of your application.

Common Application Home School Supplement (PDF)

Application Suggestions for Homeschooled Students

Letters of recommendation are invited from a tutor or parent, but also encourage one or two additional letters from employers, coaches, clergy, homeschool associations or other community members.
SAT II and AP scores will be reviewed if sent.
Include official transcripts of any classes you may have taken at local high schools or colleges or through summer programs.
If we feel we do not have enough information with which to evaluate an applicant, we may ask for a more detailed description of the individual's homeschool curriculum, possibly in the form of course descriptions or syllabi.

Typically, our homeschooled applicants are prepared for IIT's rigor, but just have different curricular experiences; we look forward to hearing your individual educational story.

We encourage all applicants to visit campus, and to meet with an admission counselor when they do. During this meeting you may ask any questions you have about the application process, and, if desired, you can tell us more about your educational background.

From Graham Johnson, a former homeschooler and fourth-year chemical engineering/computer science student...

"I know that for me, the prospect of applying to colleges was a little daunting at first. The admission counselor who deals with homeschooled applicants helped me in so many ways during the admission process, and graciously answered the many questions I had. The transition to the rigorous academics at IIT was very comfortable. Homeschooling entails a lot of self-study and one-to-one contact, and that is exactly what I found here. Classes are small, and professors desire to interact and form relationships with students. I truly have found a home away from home..."