Illinois Institute of Technology supplemental essays

These are Illinois Institute of Technology's 2025-26 prompts. The 2026–27 wording was not yet published when this page was verified. Most schools keep prompts the same or change them lightly; confirm on iit.edu before you submit.

The prompts, one by one

1. Why Illinois Tech?up to 250 words · Why us

   “Why are you interested in Illinois Institute of Technology?”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Illinois Institute of Technology good" but "what will you do here that you can't do elsewhere, and what in your past proves you'll actually do it." The reader already knows the school is good.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Opening with the campus, the ranking or the "world-renowned faculty." Every sentence that would survive with another school's name swapped in is wasted. Listing three programs with no explanation of any of them is the second trap.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start with the specific thing you've already been doing. Name one or two concrete Illinois Institute of Technology resources (a course, a lab, a program, a professor's actual work) and say what you'd do with each. End on the next step, not on a compliment.

2. Additional information (optional)up to 200 words · Open prompt

   “Would you like to share additional information not covered in your application?”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Illinois Institute of Technology is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

3. Background and lived experiences essayup to 800 words · Community

   “How have your background and lived experiences shaped your perspective, and how would you bring those insights to the classroom and community at Illinois Tech?”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Illinois Institute of Technology because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Pick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Illinois Institute of Technology: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Illinois Institute of Technology) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.