<p>If anyone currently attending or recent grads have input on any of these inquires the help is much appreciated. I will list my questions for the sake of organization:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>GPA is 3.8 UW and more than a 4.0 weighted. SAT 2030 (M 670 CR 690 W 670). AP classes:AP Calc BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Bio, AP Psychology, AP English and Composition and AP U.S. History. Done very well in AP classes. Lagging freshman grades bring my UW GPA down. Good ECs. From MA. How are my chances?</p></li>
<li><p>I am going to major in Computer Science. Want more than a B.S.; not sure if willing to get a doctorate or only M.S. How is undergraduate education in the field? How many students go on to graduate school? Is there good placement into top national programs?</p></li>
<li><p>Do I have to live on-campus? I enjoy my personal liberties and would prefer my own private living arrangements. Also, do many students own cars?</p></li>
<li><p>At risk of repetition: Any personal accounts of computer science program? I know job placement is good, but what about the education itself?</p></li>
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<p>Thanks a lot for any help you all have to offer.</p>
<p>I am not a student (professor) and I am not in the CS Department (Physics) but I can answer some of your questions and give you my opinion of the others:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You should have no problem being admitted with your test scores and grades. You are in the upper half of entering students with your SAT scores and you have taken a challenging curriculum and improved over the last years (Freshman year is the best time to have a poor year).</p></li>
<li><p>Our best students in all departments go to top graduate programs. I am sure about this in physics (my department) and it is the same for engineering and computer science. My second son had no complaints about the CS courses he took (CE major) and was able to take graduate EE courses in his final year. Getting into a top graduate program is more about the student than the university. You need to get involved in research and take advantage of all the opportunities that are presented by being at a research university. You already have shown that you are prepared to take a rigorous course load and that alone will prepare you well.</p></li>
<li><p>There is a first year residency requirement which is much the same as many other universities. [IIT</a> Residence and Greek Life | Resident Resources | On Campus Housing Waiver](<a href=“http://www.iit.edu/housing/resident_resources/campus_waiver.shtml]IIT”>http://www.iit.edu/housing/resident_resources/campus_waiver.shtml) It is hard to say how many students own cars because we do have a significant commuter population which increases the car population.</p></li>
<li><p>I will leave it to others to give their personal experiences.</p></li>
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<p>Cheers</p>
<p>I’m a chemical engineering major so I can’t comment on the CS questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We do have a very large commuter population, but many of them commute by Metra from the suburbs because it’s pretty expensive to have a car on campus and street parking is minimal. Also, there is a first year residency requirement, as the other poster said, but I’ve heard of many people getting it waived so I don’t think it’s too tough to opt out.</p></li>
<li><p>Just wanted to add that even as a ChemE, I can tell that the CS majors are a pretty tight-knit group. They organize all-night hackathons and stuff like that.</p></li>
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<p>Thanks a lot guys. Glad to know I can get in, now I just need to see if I can afford a private school! My estimated net price is around 25k a year which is a lot. I know there are sevral substantial merit scholarships awarded… Does anyone know the caliber of students who receive the award? IIT is one of my top choices I’d hate to not be able to go because of money. xraymancs nice to hear from a professor, I appreciate it. And iitcheme glad to hear that the CS students know each other well. Anyone else from IIT I’d love to hear your thoughts on the school. Since I last posted I’ve become a lot more serious about this school.</p>
<p>IIT does give merit aid to strong applicants. Everyone is a bit different. In addition, strong students are nominated for the Camras Scholarship and are invited to Interview Weekend. There are additional essays required to be considered for the Camras. In addition there are the Duchossois Leadership Scholarships. For these, the rules are different, applicants interested in these must apply themselves.</p>
<p>I can tell you a bit about the Camras and Duchossois scholarships since I interview for both of them regularly. For the Camras, we are looking for strong academics plus a good ‘fit’ with the school. The questions we ask ourselves is whether the students will contribute to the university environment as a whole. The expectation is that a Camras Scholar will give back to the university and all the other students in some way. When I interview, I look for a student who is able to hold a conversation and who has questions about IIT.</p>
<p>For the Duchossois, all these things are doubly important and we don’t necessarily choose the strongest academic applicants. In this case, all the current Duchossois Scholars participate in the interviews and the final decision is collective. Duchossois Scholars are expected to show real leadership on campus and we hold them to it.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I am actually a Camras Scholar myself, so if you have any questions about it I can probably answer most of them. When you apply to IIT, you will automatically be considered for the Camras program. The top 1% of the applicant pool is invited to Camras weekend (100-120 students) and 20-40 are chosen, depending on the year.</p>
<p>I personally really like being a Camras student, because you are considered a leader on campus, academically and outside of classes. I’m very good friends with many other Camras students, and I have gotten an undergrad research position and made many other connection through the Camras program.</p>