Female prospect considering VMI vs Norwich vs VT (Marine Corps ROTC)

PaigeM

PaigeM

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My name is Paige and I am a HS junior and want to pursue a Marine Corps ROTC program. My overall goal is to become fully commissioned officer in the Marines. I live in CT and feel that the Citadel and Texas A&M are just too far from home (at this point in my life). My top choices are probably Norwich University, VMI and, Virginia Tech. I plan on attending (if accepted) the upcoming USNA Summer Seminar. I am also a certified member of my town's firefighter company and will have my EMT certifications by the end of this summer. I have a 3.9 GPA and mediocre PSAT score of 1100 (taking the SAT in March) and play goalie on our varsity lacrosse team. Also, schools like Norwich have a few different leadership experiences weekends and camps, which I am also considering attending. So my question is, which school would best fit my overall goal?
 
There’s no right answer here. But better yet, there’s no wrong answer. Norwich and VMI (and SMCs in general) have more in common than we do differences compared to colleges in general, but there are significant differences as well. You will likely find a larger # and percentage of future Marines at VMI, although I don’t have the data to prove it. Living conditions and culture at VMI are the more “spartan” of the two. Norwich has a winder range of majors. As an out of stater, Norwich will likely (almost certainly) be more affordable. Norwich is cold in the winter. VMI is hot in the summer.

If you’re interested in NCAA, D1 vs D3 is a significant difference.

You can continue to serve as an EMT (for the Corps and in town) and Firefighter in Lexington. Norwich probably also has EMTs, but I’m unsure.

There’s a lot of other info on here that talks in more length about VMI. Just search my post history. @EEBTTF is good guy for Norwich info. I’d also add, VMI is already pretty far from home for you, so adding El Cid to your list may make sense.

Most Importantly, attend an Open House at VMI. I know you mentioned doing that for Norwich, but do so for both (and VTCC/El Cid if you add it to your list). While there’s a bit of a dog and pony show aspect to it, talking with Cadets does give you the vibe of the school. I TDY’d to Norwich recently and it’s definitely different than VMI, not worse, just different.

If you have any specific VMI questions, fire away. I love the place :)
 
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Summer Seminar is definitely a great idea. I went to USAFA's Summer Seminar last summer and absolutely loved it (even though it was virtual). I also can not stress enough how important it is to stay overnight at VMI once before deciding to attend. Doing that changed my entire perspective on the school. The guys and gals there are all great and, from what I've heard, the teachers are very helpful when you fall behind. Dorm life, however, just wasn't for me. I won't go into specifics but you'll see it when you get there. Best of luck and hope everything works out for you!

V/R

Hatchet
 
PaigeMasto said:
My name is Paige and I am a HS junior and want to pursue a Marine Corps ROTC program. My overall goal is to become fully commissioned officer in the Marines. I live in CT and feel that the Citadel and Texas A&M are just too far from home (at this point in my life). My top choices are probably Norwich University, VMI and, Virginia Tech. I plan on attending (if accepted) the upcoming USNA Summer Seminar. I am also a certified member of my town's firefighter company and will have my EMT certifications by the end of this summer. I have a 3.9 GPA and mediocre PSAT score of 1100 (taking the SAT in March) and play goalie on our varsity lacrosse team. Also, schools like Norwich have a few different leadership experiences weekends and camps, which I am also considering attending. So my question is, which school would best fit my overall goal?
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You should also look into the Marine Corp Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy or SLCDA. It is fairly competitive to get into but worth it and I believe it is held in Quantico, VA. DS was accepted into it after he was turned down for SLE at USMA. Unfortunately, COVID hit and it was canceled.
 
Visit, definitely. DS visited a number of schools, including Norwich, but his weekend at VT sealed the deal. He knew it was the right fit for him and never looked back. There used to be an overnight program for prospective cadets and hopefully that's back up and running this year.

I know there are EMT positions within the Corps at VT but another option is the student-run Virginia Tech Rescue Squad which serves the Blacksburg campus. I'm not sure if you can do it in your first year, but cadets have been a part of the squad in the past.
 
I can't speak on VMI or any of the above, but I'm a female Marine option MIDN (from CT, too) if you'd like to chat. :)
 
hokiesfan said:
Visit, definitely. DS visited a number of schools, including Norwich, but his weekend at VT sealed the deal. He knew it was the right fit for him and never looked back. There used to be an overnight program for prospective cadets and hopefully that's back up and running this year.

I know there are EMT positions within the Corps at VT but another option is the student-run Virginia Tech Rescue Squad which serves the Blacksburg campus. I'm not sure if you can do it in your first year, but cadets have been a part of the squad in the past.
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Looks like there are three overnights (plus a bonus engineering focused one) to finish out this year. They also run online sessions on Wednesday afternoon. The overnight sealed the deal for my Hokie, too!

vtcc.vt.edu

Learn More about the Corps of Cadets

vtcc.vt.edu vtcc.vt.edu
 
PaigeMasto said:
My overall goal is to become fully commissioned officer in the Marines.
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@PaigeMasto - many fine USMC Officers come out of each commissioning program (Naval Academy, NROTC, PLC, OCS, MECEP). You can find the full list of NROTC programs listed by state here: https://www.netc.navy.mil/Commands/Naval-Service-Training-Command/NROTC/Navy-ROTC-Schools/

You have gotten a lot of responses on the schools you are considering. I want to urge you to focus on your academics, standardized test scores, extra-curriculars (leadership), and physical fitness. Excel in these areas and you will have many more options available to choose from.
 
As everyone in this forum says, visit. Look for an overriding reason or something that tells you this place is for you. It's four-years of going back and forth and finding places to go on leave. The ability to get home easily or visit your friends at a local college to unwind and re-charge shouldn't be dismissed. You also have the cost of tuition as well as travel expenses. Best wishes.
 
Definitely go tour each of the schools you're looking at. I can really only speak for VT. Freshman year, you're not going to have a ton of time to do things like EMT/lacrosse especially first semester, but life opens up the farther you go along. The Marine-Option program at VT is also excellent and produces outstanding cadets and officers. And previous posters are right - there's nothing like Enter Sandman in a sold-out Lane. Still, my biggest recommendation is to visit. It's hard for people on the Internet to give a complete picture of what life is like in an SMC environment.
 
As others have mentioned, I highly recommend visiting. We are also from New England, and like you, my daughter was also considering VMI and Norwich. However, after doing the VTCC spend-the-night program, she was sold. If you visit their website, you will see several upcomimg options to visit. vtcc.vt.edu

The first couple months are tough, but any SMC will be like that. Now in her second semester, she is very happy with her choice and could not imagine doing anything different. The campus is gorgeous, there are several majors available, and she is able to pursue her sport at the club level. It truly is the best of both worlds.
 
Check out the school. Meet up with students who go there and not just those who do the tours Obviously meet the detachment and its members. Do what my wife did with my kids when they visit the schools (maybe one of your parents should do it) . She randomly walked into teachers class (no students were there) and asked the teacher questions. She embarrassed the crap out of my son by the way, but she got a good sense if the program (major) fit what he was looking for. The professors were pretty honest and gave the strength and weaknesses they thought the school had in relation to that major. She did it for my AF pilot when he was looking at schools that had Professional Flight majors and for my younger son who wanted a film production major. School tours do a great job in showing you the buildings, structure, and beauty of the campus, but not necessarily what goes on in school.
 
Location said:
Norwich and VMI are cool and all but you’ll never get to cause an earthquake in Lane Stadium when Enter Sandman comes on ;)
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I've heard about Lane Stadium and have watched the videos of when the Hokies take the field. Impressive to say the least!
 
To reiterate what others have already said, visiting is incredibly important. It can be hard to understand what a school is like without ever actually setting foot on the campus. VMI does interviews and campus visits which I would highly recommend going to. It definitely helped me to make my decision regarding VMI and gave me a greater insight into what the school was really all about.
 
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