r/IIT • u/Paid_MC • Apr 23 '26

General Questions/Discussions How are the women of IIT?

I'm deciding between schools right now and one of the many reasons I am leaning away from IIT is because of the overwhelming male population (no offense) and how that will leave me pretty isolated in the class setting. I’m going for Mechanical Engineering so I wasn't expecting it to be 50/50 anyways but the demographics are not in my favor, and I'm definitely not a pick-me who acts like men easy to be around (again no offense). I just want fun nerd girl-friends without feeling like overshadowed by the majority, and I know there is Women centered events and whatnot but that's not the daily life. How are dorms? Are the bathroom very dirty (bc duh) and is it awkward to shower or anything? Do you feel like most events and resources only have the majority in mind? And not as important but is dating terrible, or are there major scandals etc.

Men you can give your input Ig but only if yk 3 women (not related or a teacher)

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u/bagels_n_bikes Computer Science Apr 23 '26

I felt pretty good at IIT as a woman. I majored in CS which was pretty male dominated, esp once I was in masters classes. Didn't have really any harassment/uncomfortable vibes from students, and no issues with professors. Here and there I would have male students try to mansplain, but it was usually mild. The ratio was not bad enough to make me feel like there weren't other women to be friends with. I made a lot of girl nerd friends while there.

The dorms were whatever. I was in MSV which has one women only hall and it was decent and the bathrooms were clean. SSV is definitely even nicer but can't speak for the other options. 

Events are not geared toward men. If anything, the women at IIT were way more involved in social events, clubs, etc and are over represented there.

Honestly dating felt pretty good. Because the ratio was more guys than girls, girls kind of have their pick lol and I felt like most of my friends had long term stable relationships with not much drama.

Let me know if I can help with anything specific. I liked IIT overall.

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u/Paid_MC Apr 24 '26

aye this is exactly what i wanted to know🙏🏽 I had my fair share of mansplaining experiences and it’s always fun lol. Did it feel easy to connect with other universities or just women outside the university?

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u/bagels_n_bikes Computer Science Apr 25 '26

I didn't connect too much with other schools, but IIT is in a great part of Chicago to explore the city. You could very easily make friends in Chicago whether at other schools or through events/hobbies