Virginia Tech ROTC Class of 2015

Thanks a lot man you were a huge help. Did you sat you're a cadet now?

Yea I'm going to be a senior next year. Im not NROTC though, Im AF. But we all get to know each other (and each other's career selections) pretty well.
 
First off there is nothing wrong with choosing either school, know that. However my personal opinion has to go with VT because of the reputation CoC carries. It is one of the top programs in the country for ROTC. Also, it is a senior military college, which means should your son choose a commissioning upon graduation, he is guranteed an active duty spot, rather than a reservist. VT is also built around leadership roles as an upperclassman, which is what attracted me. Hope this helps.
 
I concur with quick. One of the biggest draws for VT is they are one of only 7 colleges in the nation that has a CoC.

I know for AFROTC statistically they always do very well when it comes to the important boards, such as, field training and AFSC. This will be very important to you in yrs to come.

I believe for this yr they had over 65% selected for SFT, compared to the avh of 50%, and some dets had as low as 35%.

For the rated career board, they had 100% selected out of their qualified pool. Rated = flying. I believe the overall rate was @80% nationally.

Finally, the one thing to understand about VT, and I am sure PSU is the same, their engineering program is very rigorous. On the 1st day they will tell you look left, look right, one of you will not graduate as an engineer. :eek: That causes even more stress because ROTC scholarships are tied to your gpa, and sometimes the major. Plus, when you are up for your career field board, your gpa is a part of your OML, thus it is going to matter alot!
 
Hi everyone! I started this thread and then disappeared for the last two weeks. Sorry...spring break trip and then a business trip. I wanted to chime in ...Pima is dead on re: the rigor of the VT Engineering School. HOWEVER! Please contact Major Mariger ....she is the recruitment and retention officer for the Corp of Cadets. My husband and I attended a 1 1/2 hour parent presentation when we dropped off DS for the overnight program. It was full of info. One thing that Freshman in the CC are required to do is 4 hours of homework a night. Enforced. The CofC all live in the same building...no TVs in freshmen rooms. Every resource you can imagine to guarantee academic success. The GPA of the Corp is higher thatn the school average and the majority of them are Engineering majors. Personally, and not just becasue DS will be attending, I feel that there is no comparison b/w VT and PS with respect to the Eng. program, the Corp and the ROTC programs. But if your son has a scholarship to PS, that certainly is a factor! Congrats to your DS on both acceptances....I would strongly encourage you to phone Major Mariger....she is a GREAT resource and has stats for VT as well as other Universities. Good luck and hope to see you in the Hokie Nation.
 
My son just received notification that his transfer to Virginia Tech has been approved. he has a 4 year NROTC marine option scholarship and will studying history (he thinks). We are beyond excited!

Congrats!!!! See you in the fall...or maybe summer depending on orientation session! Once we get all of these kids graduated from high school, we can start a thread w/in this thread so everyone can post which orientation session they will be attending. We parents can meet in person. If not orientation, we can all make a plan to meet at a designated spot during Parents Weekend. I vote for a bar after these past few months!:shake:
 
Well I will definitely meet you for that drink.......and am glad to hear about the no tv rule.
 
You know I didn't know that about the no tv, maybe that is why our DD hangs out to study in the cadre's dorm.:rolleyes: Oh no, that can't be it! I am sure as a military brat she is a sucker for a man in uniform!:thumb:

Funny story, 1st night at VT her and her new BFF's decided to check out all of the dorms, they live in AJ. Where did they land up hanging out in? The cadet dorm. Of course since it is a cadet dorm, they were warmly welcomed...female cadets got to hang with girls, and guys are guys...GIRLS!

Her and her friends made a very good friend that night and still are to this day. The female cadet told me on a drive home, it was the happiest night of her life because she realized that as a cadet she would still get the ability to have friends who weren't cadets, and who got her for wanting to be a cadet. For girls that is an issue, because unfortunately they see them as not being a girl, it is hard for girls to understand that you must wear your hair in a certain way, and let's be honest no girl looks like a girl in the uniform, which is a big deal for 18 yr old girls.

Funnier yet, she dated a cadet for a while, and Bullet and I LOAO because he was a Marine cadet! She was raised in an AF family. Bullet turned to me and asked should I be insulted she chose a Marine, because I am sure there are AF cadets there too?
 
The ability to have the best of both worlds was a major attraction for my son. He loves structure and discipline but enjoys having friends with other interests. I think living with the other cadets is a major advantage however - who wants to room with someone coming in late when you are getting up early!!
 
Amen to all of the comments. I'm sure like a lot of college students but I think esp. the 20% who are accepted directly into ENG, my son has never really had to study. And I mean it. Shows up to class , takes a few notes (all in the same notebook...one notebook....every subject and in the order of the classes ...no "sections". ahhhhh!!!!) Anwyay, I think ENG + Corp + lack of familiarity + getting up at crack o dawn thirty might have = DISASTER....except the Corp is smart. Most are like my kid, most are ENG and they have those rules and regs for a reason. And I'm glad they do. It forces them into a good routine and then as the rules relax (hopefully) they will keep those good habits and routines. HOPEFULLY!!! :) As soon as we get all of cadets on here who are waiting to hear etc. we can make a plan to meet up. Pima....you are our honorary member! :)
 
On the 1st day they will tell you look left, look right, one of you will not graduate as an engineer. :eek: That causes even more stress because ROTC scholarships are tied to your gpa, and sometimes the major.

I literally laughed out loud, Pima. I remember this like it was yesterday, and I tell this story to friends even now. It's reality. I worried all first semester until grades came out. Thankfully, DS did great, and now mama can breathe again.
 
Good on you, have to say I still hold my breath at the end of every semester.

My Mom use to say to me when I was a young, being a Mom never ends, you always worry. Dang that woman was so right!

Even now, when they call part of me can feel my heart in my feet bracing for bad news and when I hear the dial tone after we hang up my body soars. Dang my Mom was right!

A couple of move in things.

1. If you are handy, build the hutch. It is so much cheaper.
~~~If you have a girl, buy either chalkboard paint or dry erase paint. Lowe's sells both. Dry erase is more expensive. Girls love it, we also brought a small ledge for the chalkboard and once they arranged the room nailed it on in the room.

2. Buy their linens
~~~ They have an area set aside to pick them up. It was 1,2,3.

Would say the towels were poor quality, so buy towels to bring with you, but the res.life linens they sell was worth the cost. Keep the receipt, because if they break down they will replace.

DD's is fine.

3. Loft and Futon

~~~ Beware it will be a tight squeeze if you get the Futon even if you have lofted the beds. Reason why is because they will also bring a fridge.

It will be in the room un-assembled. Bring a small tool kit JIC

4. Carpet---don't know if they are allowed it for the ROTC dorms

~~~ Cheaper to buy a remnant and bring it with you than theirs. It truly has the pile of what you can get off the giant rolls at Lowes.

5. Dining

~~~ DD has the min plan, she is tiny. She always has money left over. At the end of the semester she had so much money she bought:
1. Tray of Rice Krispies
2. Case of Pepsi
3. Case of Water
4. Case of Gatorade

She would eat yogurt and water for breakfast, had lunch and dinner. However, she is @5'2.

DS at another college also had the same issue. He is not a breakfast eater.

6. Hokie Pass is the way to go

~~~ Many establishments off campus take it and if you use the min meal plan, but put in the account it gives them more freedom.

7. Save quarters now

~~~ Laundry. Every semester we send the kids with a coin jar. I save all summer, est. 3.50 a load, and than add some more for a soda and candy bar. Multiply by 15 and that is the amount I send them with. If they decide to use the coins for candy and soda instead of laundry that is their choice.

I do this because if they hit the ATM to get money to do laundry they tend to burn through it faster than pulling the coins out of the jar.

8. They have dollies to borrow

You just go to the same area as res linens and it is free of charge.

For 30 bucks you can buy a collapsible dolly from Wal-Mart or Lowes. We decided that with 3 kids, 2 in college buying one was the way to go. However at VT they had tons of them and there was no wait. Better yet, buy one and get one from them, you will be done in 15 minutes. It was also smart of them to have it right next to the res. linens so you can carry it away. The box is huge.


9. The worse part of move in is getting that pass for loading and unloading. LY it was hard to find where to get it. It is, I think a 30 minute load/unload zone.

10. The best part is they have many students who are there to assist. Just look for a gaggle of students wearing the same shirts.


Hope that helps VT students. Granted I am just a VT parent and the ROTC dorm is not in the thick of it for the traditional students, however, I just wanted to pass the experience along.

Also remember to check if the dorm is WI-FI. DD's was not, so we needed to bring additional cables.


Move out is like move in. They will sign up for times and your parking pass will play into the equation.

Welcome Hokie parents.
 
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Pima's advice is appropriate for civilian dorms, but be aware that the process for cadet dorms and R-day for new cadets is very different than for regular freshmen. New cadets will get a manual soon that outlines the move-in process, when to report, what to bring, what will be issued, etc. I'll give some pointers below based on our experience, but the New Cadet Week manual for the incoming class is your best resource for info on this year's move-in.

Buy or make the hutch, definitely. They will deliver the hutches on R-day, but they had to change the pick-up spot at the last minute due to construction. Just look for the big panel truck...

I'd suggest that new cadets not buy linens through the school. Cadets are issued wool VTCC blankets & any comforters have to be stowed for inspections. Cadet bunks use regular, twin sheets (they are not twin XL like the civilian dorms) and new cadets have their choice of color: white, white or white!:wink: One set of sheets and an extra pillowcase should be sufficient; cadets tend to sleep on top of their made bunks so they don't have to remake them for inspection and only the pillowcase really gets used. Send your cadet with a light sleeping bag, polar fleece throw, etc. that they can easily stow in the mornings for inspection. Having two sets of white towels helps, that way cadets have a clean set for inspection.

Cadets bunks may not be lofted and carpets are forbidden. New Cadets are not permitted to have a stereo, TV or posters in their rooms. I don't believe new cadets are allowed to have extra furniture in their rooms, such as futons, but that's something incoming cadets should check before bringing.

The Corps suggests that parents go with the Mega flex plan because cadets tend to run out of money before the end of the semester. Because they are up early in the mornings cadets tend to eat breakfast more than civilian students, so their advice was correct in our experience. We had to add money to our son's account even with the mega plan and he's not a huge eater.

New Cadet move-in procedures are very different than for other freshmen. Note that parents get to do the moving in while the cadets are getting haircuts and doing all the other R-day necessities. There weren't any dollies available last year, so bring one if you think you'll need it. Bear in mind that cadets don't move in with much, so our experience was that move-in took about two trips to the dorm from the car.

We found that move-in was actually a very simple, very organized process. Since new cadets are moving in a week early campus is a lot less busy. We arrived early, got things in before the day really warmed up and were able to help our son get settled in before the 'fun' began at 3:30.
 
Happy to give advice

DS just finished his first year at VT in the 2014 class of the Corps of Cadets on AROTC scholarship. He had a tough but excellent first year and told me it's the absolute best place for him. He was a General Engineering major, and because he made Dean's List first semester, he was allowed to declare Civil Engineering right away. VT's Engineering Department is excellent and, by the way, they just received a huge endowment and are moving forward with the impressive new Engineering facility.

New Cadet Week was rough, but he had no illusions about it. A full load of tough classes on top of the Corps and ROTC was extremely difficult, and it took every once of willpower and determination to persevere. Every minute was accounted for, and he wasted not one second. Other cadets, when they began getting privileges, would go out, but DS stayed in to study and took a bit of flack for it from his buds. He can't risk losing the scholarship and he knows it. We're out of state, and he would then be going to U of MD where he was also accepted. Now, some of those buds who did not work as hard are no longer in the Corps., but DS finished the year with a respectable 3.55 GPA, so it is all paying off.

Anyway, long story short is make sure your kid knows what they're getting into and is willing to work hard, swallow some pride, and toe the line. If they do, they will have a whole lot to be proud of. I'll be happy to help answer any questions and good luck to VTCC 2015!
 
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