Road Trip: Chicago's Illinois Institute of Technology
We toured some of Chicago's top schools and found out what it's like to attend them
If you visit IIT, don't expect to find a bustling main campus. Despite being only 3 miles south of the Loop, the Bronzeville campus can feel distant and a little barren. Except for a recently reopened bar and bowling alley, there are few entertainment options, and at 7,600 students, including 2,600 undergraduates, the school is small. Engineering and architecture are popular majors, and some students in those colleges say they don't care much for partying.
What does get them excited is technology. Few students reacted when a visitor broke the news that the administration was shutting down IIT's men's and women's basketball programs. But a question about an upcoming hybrid race-car competition got an enthusiastic response from a group of engineering students eager to explain the mechanical and electrical intricacies of building not one but two hybrid cars.
"This is a tech school," says Shreyas Dole, a senior who is double-majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering. "You obviously have a lot of geeks here." Dole says the biggest and most anticipated social events are local area network parties. "Everyone brings their laptop to the ballroom in the student center, and we all play computer games together."
For many undergrads, team projects are the highlight of their experience at IIT; many of these teach engineers to speak to people outside of engineering. The school requires all students to complete at least two team projects before graduation. In 2003, a team of undergrads helped the school's next-door neighbor, the White Sox, develop a system that measures the distance of home runs. The contacts pay off:"There are companies now begging us to introduce our students to them, even in this economy," says Ali Emadi, a popular professor of engineering.
More About IIT
Plus factor: Wondering why so many of the buildings look similar? Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe drew up the master plan.
Undergrad enrollment, fall '08: 2,639
Est. annual cost, 2009-10: $39,060
Chicago Road Trip
- DePaul University
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Northwestern University
- University of Illinois-Chicago
Searching for a college? Get our America's Best Colleges 2010 complete rankings.
Reader Comments
Don't go IIT
Please, avoid this university. I'm a student there and I'm very disapointed with them.. When I visited the campus i got a bad feeling but I though it was for the cold weather. But after 6 month there I can say that it's not a good university. Even if you never have been here you can say that because it's no americans over there (neither teachers nor students). It's said that in a good university you will find a lot of diversity, but what they have there is not diversity. I'm international stuent, so one ot the things I wanted to improve was my English. There you can improve your indish or chinish or maybe talk in your own language because it's plenty of people from your country. So, the question that you have to make yourself is: why a university located in the middle of a city with more than 8 million people lacks of american teachers and students? My answer is, if you have a bad quality store near to your house, you won't go there, so that what's happen with IIT and american students/proffesors.
There's more reasons that i will like to tell you, including bad academic quality and bad customer assistance (after paying them, of course). That's why i'm preparing a web site to advice people not to go there. They took my money but I hope nobody will be tricked again after reading my web site.
Barren? Really?
Being an alumni and a frequent visitor back on campus I too totally disagree with the characterization of a barren and empty campus. This is not a party school! IIT is what its name says, an Institute of Technology. Being so aptly named, it is shocking to me that the writer would find it odd that there are people enthused about a hybrid car. I am enthused about a hybrid car. This is why we went there. IIT is a great place to learn while being surrounded by the magnificence of Chicago.
yea, a little misguided
Especially with the basketball issue! There were multiple pleas made, petitions written and signed, and support raised for the basketball team! Some of the other parts are true, but on a weekday, the school is amazing. don't get me wrong, its no state school but its not death valley. And "entertainment" is not just bars and bowling alleys, there are tons of clubs, many sporting events, and almost always someone to hang out, watch a movie or play video games with. IIT is not a place for everyone, but there is a lot going on. This article is not totally outrageous on most things, but i just wanted to point those things out.
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