First-Year Students

Who is a first-year student, and how can you apply to Illinois Tech?

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First-year students are defined as students who 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 first-year 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 also fall into this first-year students category.

Domestic students are United States citizens or U.S. permanent residents. This includes U.S. nationals living overseas in military or diplomatic zones. International students can learn about application requirements here.

Application Requirements

Students engaged in a college preparatory or general education curriculum generally make good candidates for Illinois Tech. At Illinois Tech, have a set of recommended application guidelines that you should review before applying.

Please review our Application Dates and Deadlines page to learn more about our early decision, early action, and regular decision deadlines, as well as important dual programs deadlines.

Step 1: Submit Your Application

Application for academic year 2025 are now open. Post February 1, 2025 we are accepting applications on a case-by-case basis only for Fall 2025. Illinois Tech does not charge an application fee for undergraduate admission.

Step 2: Submit Your Official High School/Secondary School Transcript

Please have your school submit official transcripts sent through its electronic transcript service to ugaprocessing@iit.edu. If this service is not available, you may mail your sealed official transcripts to:

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

Step 3: Determine If You’re Submitting Optional Materials

We've simplified our application requirements. Students may choose to submit a letter of recommendation or standardized test scores for consideration, but these items are not required. All students will be considered for institutional scholarships regardless of whether they submit a letter of recommendation or standardized test scores.

Letter of recommendation (optional)

Up to three are accepted. Please have your counselor email them directly to ugaprocessing@iit.edu. You can request for the letter of recommendation to be sent through the Illinois Tech application.

Who should submit a letter of recommendation?

There are certain cases when you may want to consider submitting a letter of recommendation. These cases include:

• If you are applying for a special full-tuition scholarship that requires a letter of recommendation
• If your recommender can share insight beyond what is already shown in your application or transcript

Standardized test scores (optional)

Illinois Tech does not require standardized tests for undergraduate applicants. This policy applies to all first-year, transfer, and international applicants and all institutional scholarship considerations.

For students who want to submit standardized test scores, Illinois Tech’s SAT code is 1318; the ACT code is 1040. Illinois Tech will super score any official scores that are submitted.

How does Illinois Tech make decisions without a test score?

Illinois Tech evaluates all applications holistically. The admissions committee considers the level of coursework (including math for more selective majors), academic performance in honors/AP/IB courses, your personal statement, involvement in extracurricular activities, and other aspects of your application when evaluating students for admission.

Academic Honesty Policy

Illinois Tech values academic honesty beginning during the admissions process and throughout a student’s education. Prospective students are expected to represent their academic qualifications with full honesty and transparency. You can learn more about Undergraduate Admission's Academic Honesty Policy here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good applicant?

Illinois Tech is looking for students of high academic caliber with strong community ties and a committed work ethic. In the application, we evaluate your academic standing and your extracurricular, community-based, and leadership involvement. We also like to hear why you think an education at Illinois Tech would help you pursue your academic and career goals and how you could contribute to the Illinois Tech community. Be specific. We want to hear your story!

Can I apply as undecided?

Students may declare a first- and second-choice major in their application or they may apply to the Discover+ degree program.

Undeclared students admitted to Discover+ can spend their first two year taking general education and core curriculum courses before deciding to declare a major at the end of their second year.

What happens after I apply?

Once you submit your application through the Common App, you will receive an email with a link to your Application Tracker. Your Application Tracker will let you know if you are missing any supplemental materials.

Please review our Application Dates and Deadlines page to learn more about the decision notification timeline.

When will I receive my admission decision?

Please review our Application Dates and Deadlines page to learn more about the decision notification timeline.

Admitted students can receive one of four decisions:

• Direct admission into your first- or second-choice degree program
• University admission: Students who are granted admission into the university, but not their first- or second-choice degree program, may choose to enroll in our Discover+ (undecided) program and reapply to their preferred major in their second year. They may also choose accept direct admission in their first year into one of the majors offered in their decision email.
• Acceptance into Ascend, Illinois Tech's Transfer Pathway program: Select students will be invited to participate in Ascend, a transfer pathway program, with one of our partner institutions, designed to enable promising students to transfer into Illinois Tech after taking one- to two-semesters of college-level coursework. Students who maintain a 3.0 GPA and earn a “B” or higher in Calculus-level math may qualify for guaranteed admission.
• Request for additional information: If the admission committee is unable to issue a decision based on the application materials you submitted, they may request that you submit additional information such as your transcript from the first semester of your senior year or a letter of recommendation. You will be issued an admission decision within 2 weeks of submitting the requested information.
• Deny/Not admitted: Everyone’s college journey is different, and if you aren't admitted the first time you apply, we invite you to take some courses at your local community college and reapply as a transfer student in future terms.

What happens after I am admitted?

If you are admitted, please visit the Admitted Student Website to learn more about special admitted student events and the next steps you should take to enroll.

Illinois Tech awards credit for qualified students in the following programs: Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), GCE A-Level AS-Level, and International Baccalaureate (IB). Learn more about how to receive college credit.