Some thoughts on VMI
A few thoughts from a serving officer (caveat I graduated over a decade ago and was the Cadet Recruiting Officer at VMI my first class year). I have over 10 years active duty in the Army and have worked with and commanded students from various commissioning sources and now serve as an instructor for Army Captains. I am of the fixed opinion after rating nearly 20 lieutenants and teaching over 60 officers on a daily basis from all commissioning sources that officers are more shaped by the individual and less so by the commission source. I have trained two Norwich graduates and about a half dozen VMI grads in the last year.
Education
VMI has in the past decade had two Rhodes Scholar selectees from the Corps. Academic stats would be another comparison and I am sure they are available in a variety of forums for things like average SATs and GPAs.
I have a BA in History and will receive an MA in International Relations this year. A broader undergraduate degree like History will keep more doors open than a specific program like Military History or American History. Now if your DS pursues an Advanced Degree in history he'll want to narrowly specify. However at the Bachelors level it is more about developing a broad based education and the ability to clearly and cogently present arguments.
Student Life:
Norwich 60:40 cadet :civilian
VMI 100% Cadet
Both has there advantages and dis-advantages.
Can one get a break from the cadet life if they needed it for even just an hour or two at VMI?
In short yes most Sundays are free of training in the morning. The rats still walk the ratline and may have one or two formations but very rarely any yelling or workouts on Sundays with the possible exception of Sunday nights as older cadets return. Additionally, parents can visit often on Friday and Saturday evenings and sign cadets out for dinner in the area.
Is the culture to loose at Norwich and one is out of the cadet lifestyle too much at Norwich?
Military opportunities
Norwich has The Mountain and Cold Weather Company and Cavalry
VMI has Tanker Platoon and Special Action Detachment
Norwich has cadet run system. VMI system is also cadet run as well both the Regimental System and the class system inside barracks.
VMI has George Patton,
(and George Marshall, Jonathan Daniels, Jackson, Chesty Puller plus two guys from the Real World and a bunch of others. Norwich has some great alum too like former Army Chief of Staff Gordon Sullivan).
Sports:
Norwich Division 3 -
VMI mostly Division 1A
Misc.
Norwich's Ring
I think both rings are 44 pennyweight. They are both easily spotted.
VMI alumni[/QUOTE]
A few other notes on VMI would be the quality of outside speakers. Between 1997 and 2001 I heard Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, David McCullough, Steven Ambrose, Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner and multiple governors of Virginia. In the last five years VMI has hosted Senator McCain and Governor Romney, Secretary Clinton, Vice President Cheney. For Army ROTC cadets there is the annual Marshall Awards too for the top cadets from ROTC around the nation which brings in the Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff and multiple General Officers. The program is for the cadets from all 270 detachments but VMI cadets get to attend the larger group sessions. The fact that the current Superintendent is a retired four star who commanded CENTCOM and is a grad helps in keeping an active dialogue with all branches as well as a Board of Visitor Member and Alum in GEN Jumper who was the Air Force Chief from 2001-2005.
In short I would consider your DS. VMI is a great place to be from and a tough school to be at. It tends to be very socially conservative in nature. The climate is fairly comparable to what you probably see in Maryland. These are all issues to consider. Norwich will be different in the fact that it is in New England and there will be a bit more progressive views with that plus the addition of a civilian student body. If your DS has feelings on any of those issues I would consider those factors. I would not worry about "better" or "worse" as far as commissions go. They all read the same and everyone is a 2LT in May 2017.