International First-Year Students (Freshmen)

Multiple international students having a conversation outside on Mies campus

First-year applicants are currently enrolled in secondary school, or have completed secondary school and have not attended an institute of higher education outside of their secondary school experience.

This includes students who have taken A-levels or studied in an Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, as long as they have not completed university coursework. Sometimes these students are also referred to as freshmen, regardless of their class standing upon entering the university.

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

  • Four years of English
  • Four years of mathematics
  • Three years of science

Requirements and Application Checklist

  1. Complete the application for admission. There is no application fee to apply to Illinois Tech. Applications are available through the Application Portal.

    Apply Now

  2. Submit official or certified copies of the marks or grades of courses completed prior to university or college entrance, as well as all board examination scores. In cases where official transcripts are not issued in English, you must submit the official native language transcript along with a certified translated English version. Transcripts can be submitted through the Common Application by a school official or uploaded to your Application Tracker once you have submitted your application. Transcripts must reflect at least three full years of grades or marks upon applying. 


    Please email supporting documents to ugaprocessing@iit.edu or mail to the following address:

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

  3. Provide Illinois Tech an official copy of the English proficiency Duolingo English Test, TOEFL or IELTS score report. The TOEFL code to send your scores to Illinois Tech is 1318. Duolingo English Test can be submitted directly by indicating Illinois Institute of Technology. Read more about the English proficiency test requirements.
  4. Official SAT I and ACT Test Scores (Optional): Submission of standardized test scores is optional for admission. This policy applies to all first-year, transfer, and international applicants and all merit scholarship considerations. 

    Students may be asked to take a math placement exam to determine course readiness if they are applying to a more rigorous academic program.

    For students who have already taken the SAT I or ACT, Illinois Tech's SAT code is 1318; the ACT code is 1040. Illinois Tech will super score any official scores that are submitted.

  5. Submit Illinois Tech's Financial Affidavit of Support to demonstrate that you or your sponsor have available finances to meet the educational and living expenses while you are a student at Illinois Tech. The Financial Affidavit of Support and supporting documents are required to receive your admission and scholarship decision. Please read the instructions for the Financial Affidavit of Support before submitting it. 
  6. Provide a copy of your passport, which is needed to fulfill the visa requirements. You may upload a copy of your passport to your Application Tracker after you have submitted your application. Read more about the visa requirements.
  7. Submit letter of recommendations. International first-year students applying as part of Early Decision (I and II) and Early Action (I and II) deadlines must submit at least one or up to three letter of recommendations. This form and letter can be submitted electronically by the teacher through the Common Application or alternatively can be emailed to ugaprocessing@iit.edu.
    Letter or recommendations are not mandatory for international transfer students and international first-year students applying for regular application deadline.

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