<p>I see the IIT thread is as lively as ever.</p>
<p>It seems like IIT is trying to change its branding to Illinois Tech. I'm not sure I agree with the change. Illinois Institute of Technology seems more prestigious to me.</p>
<p>We try to keep it hopping…</p>
<p>Students tend to call it Illinois Tech and our sports teams are known by that. IIT tends to be a mouthful if you say it fast and all too many people call us ITT (in my 31 years as a faculty member, it still annoys me) because it just is more natural to pronounce. I think that the prestige is not in the name but in the reputation and that is what we are trying to raise awareness about. After all Gerogia Tech and Cal Tech are plenty pretigious.</p>
<p>Got it. I did think of Georgia Tech when I wrote the above, but for some reason Illinois Tech doesn’t have the same significance to me – maybe over time.</p>
<p>I do have another question. On the Common App, there is an additional information section that states: “Please provide an answer below if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application. You may enter up to 650 words.” My impression of this section has been that it is a place to describe extenuating circumstances or personal hardships that you may have encountered that may have contributed to poor grades early on. Do you know what IIT’s expectation is regarding this section?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>That is correct. In addition, you can put anything that you think is an important part of your background that is not brought out by the rest of the application and your essays. I don’t think that IIT has any specific expectations for this section.</p>
I personally like the Illinois Tech lingo. I am a graduate from IIT a ways back and never heard the term then.
If you go back to the online archive of the Tech News from the 1950’s it was certainly used then. When i started at the university as a faculty member, it was not in vogue but more recently it has come back in fashion. Personally, I like it.
@Jay1811 & @tonypa - According to this [Chicago Tribune](http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-illinois-tech-brand-bsi-20160122-story.html) article, Illinois Tech is now the preferred name for Illinois Institute of Technology. A gradual but deliberate transition.
Tech-heavy regions like Silicon Valley probably recognize IIT as the Indian Institutes of Technology, so Illinois Tech makes more sense.