Virginia Tech NROTC

mdlax10

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Hey everyone. Yesterday, I received my notice of admission to VA Tech.

Has anyone had any experience/know anything about the NROTC program, Corps of Cadets, or the University itself?

I want to be a career Naval Officer (Aviator or NFO). I have not heard from the Academy yet. From what I saw, its something like 98% of VTech NROTC Mids get there first service choice out of Tech. I have also heard that within the last three years, every Midshipman out of Tech who wanted to be a pilot became one.

With its engineering program and Corps of Cadets, it seems like a no-brainer backup plan to me. My dream has always been to graduate from the Academy, though. Would I have a better chance as a second time applicant with good grades out of VTech?
 
Hey everyone. Yesterday, I received my notice of admission to VA Tech.

Has anyone had any experience/know anything about the NROTC program, Corps of Cadets, or the University itself?

I want to be a career Naval Officer (Aviator or NFO). I have not heard from the Academy yet. From what I saw, its something like 98% of VTech NROTC Mids get there first service choice out of Tech. I have also heard that within the last three years, every Midshipman out of Tech who wanted to be a pilot became one.

With its engineering program and Corps of Cadets, it seems like a no-brainer backup plan to me. My dream has always been to graduate from the Academy, though. Would I have a better chance as a second time applicant with good grades out of VTech?

congrats! i was notified myself by VT yesterday that i was accepted. will you be spending a night with the VTCC? i'll probably go. http://www.vtcc.vt.edu/Prospect/Visit.php

the statistics for first service are not unusual for any NROTC program over the last 3-4 years- especially for aviation. VMI for example said that 100% of MIDN that selected aviation and WERE PHYSICALLY QUALIFIED got it, except for one MIDN who selected SNA and ended up getting SNFO. this year however for the class of 2008, there is a problem. not enough MIDN selected nuke subs so they stopped all the selections of aviation and SWO to try to convince more MIDN to switch to nuke sub by forcing people to fill out nuke sub applications even if they weren't interested and giving them free trips to hawaii where they could try to convince them to switch. that is happening right now and there is a huge delay in the selections for 2008 grads.

if you want to know more about VMI, you might check out this thread here:
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141129
(some current/former VTCC cadets talk about what it is like)

also, if you are interested in naval aviation, i'd encourage you to check out the www.airwarriors.com forum which is exclusively dedicated to naval aviation. a lot of SNA/SNFO and naval aviators and instructors hang out there.
 
VT is my backup too. Ill be headed there if it doesnt work out with USAFA. It definitely seems unique to have a CoC within a large university. But from what Ive heard, that gives you the closest taste of what actual active duty will be like...since you balance your military lifestyle with civillian friends, social experiences, etc.

I was thinking about the spend the night with the corps thing, but id like to wait and see about the academy first.
 
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VT is my backup too. Ill be headed there if it doesnt work out with USAFA. It definitely seems unique to have a CoC within a large university. But from what Ive heard, that gives you the closest taste of what actual active duty will be like...since you balance your military lifestyle with civillian friends, social experiences, etc.

I was thinking about the spend the night with the corps thing, but id like to wait and see about the academy first.

you should definitely check out the link i gave above. some VTCC students break down the typical daily schedule of a VTCC cadet. they also talk about how cadets handle being in the VTCC.
 
VT is my backup plan as well, and I also found out that I was accepted! I attended the Spend a Night with the Corps earlier in the year and got a better glimpse of what the VTCC is all about. I would definitely recommend attending the program because when I was there I could tell that it is a very distinct program from the service academies.
 
VT is my backup plan as well, and I also found out that I was accepted! I attended the Spend a Night with the Corps earlier in the year and got a better glimpse of what the VTCC is all about. I would definitely recommend attending the program because when I was there I could tell that it is a very distinct program from the service academies.

thursday must have been the VT notification day.

in your mind, what is distinct about VT as compared with the service academies?

i still think i would prefer VMI as my first choice, but i will take a look at VT and see how it is.
 
I think that if you want the strict military school environment than VMI is your choice.

Both have great academics and will provide certain opportunities whether you pursue a military career or not.

Does anyone know if you can still spend a night with the Corps?
 
Yes. In fact, my son will be spending the night with the Corps at VT during his Spring Break this year. He is very much looking forward to it and I want him to see everything it entails before he makes his final decision whether to put VT as his #1 school on the NROTC application.
 
thursday must have been the VT notification day.

in your mind, what is distinct about VT as compared with the service academies?

i still think i would prefer VMI as my first choice, but i will take a look at VT and see how it is.

The main difference is that at an academy your in a 24/7 military atmosphere. At VT at around 6pm you can take off your uniform and go be a regular college student (some had to stay and study, and some went o go see movies). As a freshman however, I don't think you would see much of a difference. One other probably pretty helpful thing is that VTCC gives I believe a 2 hour mandatory study time for Freshman where they can't be bothered, and they are able to get work done.
 
the VT corps of cadets sent me a letter today saying ill be given a $12K scholarship if Im one of the first 100 out-of-state cadets to accept my admission to tech.

This sounds like a good deal, but I still havent heard anything from USAFA. And i have no idea how long it will be until i do. Do any of you guys who are going/applied to VT know how long this offer will be good for. 100 slots to fill must take a good amount of time, but i really dont want to miss out.
 
the VT corps of cadets sent me a letter today saying ill be given a $12K scholarship if Im one of the first 100 out-of-state cadets to accept my admission to tech.

This sounds like a good deal, but I still havent heard anything from USAFA. And i have no idea how long it will be until i do. Do any of you guys who are going/applied to VT know how long this offer will be good for. 100 slots to fill must take a good amount of time, but i really dont want to miss out.

same here. i just got that same letter in the mail today. it's something called the emerging leaders scholarship, but its for the first 100 in-state and first 100 out-of-state students. 200 total. i wonder how many freshman cadets there are in VTCC every year? do you think it is more than 200?
 
i called and asked them. They said a ton of people are in the same position as i am. They told me to just send in the acceptance with the $400 deposit. That will reserve my spot at Tech and get me the Emerging Leader scholarship. And i will have until May 1st to cancel it, but i would lose the 400 bucks. So basically i have until May 1 to hear from the Academy, and if not, Im definitely headed to VT.
 
Emerging Leader's Scholarship - that sounds impressive. Bet your parents are happy about that, too.

Good luck! VT is a great school and a great place for ROTC.

As an aside - a beautiful girl (my opinion as a mom) from my sons' HS went there on a swimming scholarship this year. Sadly though, she's not ROTC.
 
Spend the Night

We just returned from the "Spend the Night with the Corps" program at VT and my son loved it. He had a sophomore as a host cadet. My son really got along well with his host as well as the host's roommate. The mandatory quiet time for study for freshman is actually four hours (from 1900 - 2259). Lights out is at 2300. The rules are gradually more lenient as the cadet progresses through his time at VT. I heard one upper classman explaining to another family that the Corps loses about a third of its people before graduation. The vast majority of those not remaining is because they are kicked out due to GPA requirements. They don't play around with academics and since so many are Engineering majors (clearly the strength at VT) it is a difficult task to maintain that 2.5 GPA requirement. So many are used to being able to blow through school without any intense studying and still doing well in their classes. It's just not going to be that way in a really good Engineering program. Do your best to develop excellent study habits while you're still in high school. It may be too late to try to figure it out after your arrival on campus.

It was a slight shock to my son's system that he had to get up at 0515 on his second day which was followed by an hour of mandatory physical fitness time starting at 0530, but he really felt he fit in well with everyone he met. Although we have another trip or two planned, I think this really solidified VT as his number one choice.
 
We just returned from the "Spend the Night with the Corps" program at VT and my son loved it. He had a sophomore as a host cadet. My son really got along well with his host as well as the host's roommate. The mandatory quiet time for study for freshman is actually four hours (from 1900 - 2259). Lights out is at 2300. The rules are gradually more lenient as the cadet progresses through his time at VT. I heard one upper classman explaining to another family that the Corps loses about a third of its people before graduation. The vast majority of those not remaining is because they are kicked out due to GPA requirements. They don't play around with academics and since so many are Engineering majors (clearly the strength at VT) it is a difficult task to maintain that 2.5 GPA requirement. So many are used to being able to blow through school without any intense studying and still doing well in their classes. It's just not going to be that way in a really good Engineering program. Do your best to develop excellent study habits while you're still in high school. It may be too late to try to figure it out after your arrival on campus.

It was a slight shock to my son's system that he had to get up at 0515 on his second day which was followed by an hour of mandatory physical fitness time starting at 0530, but he really felt he fit in well with everyone he met. Although we have another trip or two planned, I think this really solidified VT as his number one choice.

cool. i'll probably go and spend some time too, although i don't think i will do the 2 day program.
 
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