Where to Stay
NOTE: I wrote this in 1997 when I was a Residence Hall Advisor at Illinois Institute of Technology. If you think anything should be updated/edited, please leave a comment. Thank you.
I am very happy that you picked IIT as your school of choice. You can get an excellent education and also enjoy the benefits of living in a great city. Your best bets for housing are as follows:
The IIT Housing Office - Residence Halls / Dorms
Since this will be your first time away from home, it would be a good idea to stay in the Residence Halls / Dorms for a semester or two to get your feet planted firmly. The Housing office takes special care to match students based on their ethnicity, academic discipline as well as school year. E.g. a student from Pakistan will most likely be matched up with a fellow Pakistani student or one from a similar culture (e.g. India, Bangladesh, etc.) or religion.
Another good reason to stay in the Residence Halls / Dorms for the first semester is that this will be your first winter in Chicago. Chicago winters, although not as brutal as people exaggerate, are still a force to be reckoned with.
I really do recommend that you stay on campus at least for the first semester. You will make a lot more friends that way. You are after all going to IIT for an experience rather than just academic growth.
The IIT Housing Office - On Campus Apartments
This is also a good option. A lot of graduate students do this too. They live together and cook their own food to avoid non-halal / non-kosher food. These apartments are very close to classes. You can write the housing for details on these as well.
Contact the Nationality-Based Students Association
Meeting other students from your country can be a quick and easy way to make some friends. The housing office can provide you a list of all the various student organizations.
Contact a Religion-Based Students Association.
Many students are concerned about being able to practice their faith comfortably at IIT. Don’t worry. IIT is a very diverse campus and welcomes people of all faiths. You are sure to find an organization that matches what you are looking for. If not, you can simply start your own.
A word of caution:
Remember that is is easy to irritate people by depending on them too much. So, when they do help you, please accept it graciously and do put in some effort of your own.
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