VT visit question

coastiefam

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DS is scheduled for an overnight visit with the Corps of Cadets at VT in a few weeks. An option for the visit is to schedule a meeting with the ROTC detachment of your choice (AFROTC).
Is this recommended? If so, how should he be prepared? Should he expect to be informally interviewed or just given a chance to ask questions?

Thanks!
 
DS is scheduled for an overnight visit with the Corps of Cadets at VT in a few weeks. An option for the visit is to schedule a meeting with the ROTC detachment of your choice (AFROTC).
Is this recommended? If so, how should he be prepared? Should he expect to be informally interviewed or just given a chance to ask questions?

Thanks!

Don't know if it's recommended but I certainly wouldn't be one to pass on the opportunity while there. We made a separate visit with my DS to VT and meet with the Marine Officer Instructor while there. This was a month prior to his overnight visit. Based on that meeting, you should expect an informal interview/conversation. It's no big deal. They're just naturally looking to learn something about your son and also to inform him about AFROTC in conjunction with the Corps of Cadets. We also met with one of the officers from the Corps of Cadets which was very informative.

My son enjoyed his overnight there and learned a lot during it. He elected not to go to VT. Also, they elected not to ask him! :biggrin: It's a very impressive organization and campus, and although I thought at the time it was what he needed to succeed (not what he wanted) I have learned in retrospect that he ended up at exactly the right spot. Hope your DS enjoys his overnight. :thumb:
 
DS is scheduled for an overnight visit with the Corps of Cadets at VT in a few weeks. An option for the visit is to schedule a meeting with the ROTC detachment of your choice (AFROTC).
Is this recommended? If so, how should he be prepared? Should he expect to be informally interviewed or just given a chance to ask questions?

Thanks!

I wouldn't recommend visiting the VT Corps of Cadets WITHOUT also visiting the ROTC program on campus. It definitely won't be a formal thing. Just a chance for your son to introduce himself and ask any questions he might have. Its a great opportunity to get answers "straight from the horse's mouth" vs. second hand.

I know the VTCC has some big programs like "spend the night" events. Dont get me wrong, those are great programs. But its important to remember that at the end of the day, the VTCC is just another student organization on campus. The folks on their staff aren't going to be the ones in control of your son's future career. Some of them haven't even served in the military. I would not recommend solely relying on them for answers to all your questions. That's what the active duty instructors at the ROTC units are for.

Good luck, and be sure to get a meal at West End when you are there!
 
RESEARCH!

Absolutely schedule a meeting with the AFROTC. I always told my kids that success in life comes from two things: hard work and who you know. NEVER pass up an opportunity to add to your network of contacts.

In fact, when DS and I were in college-visit-mode, not only did we schedule meetings with AROTC at every school, we also went way beyond the admissions office to schedule meetings with professors, assistant deans, or deans in fields of study that he was interested in. DS did this planning himself -- writing emails and making up these schedules to coincide with the trips to the schools. That alone was great practice for him.

At some schools, we even scheduled a lunch meeting, a dinner meeting, or a weekend hike with a junior or senior so that DS could talk to a student with a little more experience in the system. (I don't understand why schools almost always pair prospective students with freshmen.) Beware though, at one school, which I will not name, the admissions officer basically chewed DS out for daring to ask if he could meet with a junior or senior, saying that if DS ended up at that school, he would already be on "the list" to be singled out for "special treatment." How immature.

Anyway, the junior/senior meetings we DID schedule were just as useful as the professor/dean meetings. The upperclassmen we met with had a much more practical and mature prospective to offer prospective cadets than freshmen cadets did.

Incidentally, DS also scheduled meetings with various currently serving active duty officers, some enlisted guys and a few retired officers. I was never in those meetings -- but I encouraged him to do everything in his power to make sure he knew what he was getting himself into. He met with one guy who is a security officer at the Pentagon (he loved that meeting). And he went to Walter Reed and met with a bunch of guys in rehab from injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan -- most of whom told him that if they had it all to do over again, they would join the Army again in a heartbeat. And he met one-on-one with several retired military people who live in our town or go to our church.

All of these meetings CHANGED a boy who was seeing himself as a gung-ho Army tough guy into a young man who appreciated what it really means to serve your country using every bit of your natural talents as well as the skills you are actually capable of learning. When he was 15, he was going to enlist the day he turned 18. By the time he was 18, all of these meetings had convinced him to go the commissioning route, learning as much as he could in college before joining the Army.

The main point of stepping outside the admissions office box was to help DS wrap his brain around various college majors and the rigors of college-level academics and the reality of ROTC training. He learned more in those meetings than in ANY of the standard admissions assembly-line meetings. And there were extremely useful side benefits too: the contacts he made, the interview practice, and general schmoozing techniques.
 
Thanks to all for these very helpful and informative responses! Hubby and DS are looking forward to their trip this weekend. Hopefully DS will get a good sense of the program and what life in the Corps looks like.

Thanks again.
 
If you are looking at VT it might please you to know that VMI is only a couple hours away and might also be worth a look.

It is not like you can typically visit 2 Senior Military Schools in the same day. Also, the movie "Field of Lost Shoes" is in post production. It is the true story of the Civil War Battle of New Market. This film might raise awareness and applicants to VMI. Oddly, the VT shooting tragedy had that effect.

Either way, enjoy VPI.
 
Just wanted to encourage you to schedule time with the ROTC while you are here. Their perspective is crucial for the whole experience with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets - there is time one Day 2 after 0830, or before 2pm on Day 1.

By the way, our staff has been in the military! :wink: but we may not have retired form the military and wear the Virginia Militia uniform (just as the faculty/staff at VMI).

I hope you enjoy your visit!

DS is scheduled for an overnight visit with the Corps of Cadets at VT in a few weeks. An option for the visit is to schedule a meeting with the ROTC detachment of your choice (AFROTC).
Is this recommended? If so, how should he be prepared? Should he expect to be informally interviewed or just given a chance to ask questions?

Thanks!
 
Welcome VTCCC!

Coastiefam,

I would request from the AFROTC det that he speaks to C300/400 cadets for him to understand SFT and the AFSC process. Most dets have a lounge. The lounge may have tvs, xbox, foosball, crud table, etc.

Walk away and let them talk peer to peer.

Our DD is at VT, will graduate May 2014. Not ROTC or Corps, but an AF brat.

Every det is unique, just like every college. In less than a yr he will be walking this campus by himself. Walking away can make or break his decision. Understanding that the dorms are SMC and limited items as a freshman may change his opinion.

Remember the best beauty for him is the AFROTC scholarship is tied to the cadet, not the school. IF VT is not a fit for him when he has a scholarship in hand, he still has the scholarship if his college accepts their scholarship! No transfer required.
 
Thanks to all. He had a terrific visit and really enjoyed his time with the Corps. He felt that all the cadets he encountered were very friendly and willing and eager to answer questions. Came away very impressed with the program. Even liked the 5am PT session.
His plan A is still the Academies but definitely sees VT as a strong plan B, with or without a ROTC scholarship.

Now if I could just get my question about in-state tution for military dependents answered. Called and emailed VT but no response yet. We are due to rotate out of VA this summer (when he would be enrolling). Trying to figure out if he would still qualify in-state.
 
Have you tried emaliing bthelp@vt.edu ?

That is the office that deals with payment plans. Explain to them your child has yet to be accepted and do no have an ID or FERPA, but you are military and will PCS out of VA after the matriculation date, but prior to the 1st day of school. I have to say VT is really on the ball with the bursar/fin. aid. Sorry to hear you can't get an answer, but our DD is graduating in May and it might be you are getting caught in the system because I have never had to wait for more than 2 mins. over the last 4 yrs. Than again, I call the bursars office 1st.

I know for NC they have a rule for all state colleges regarding military dependents. In your case, if the child has a license and registered to vote, they will be charged IS even if they PCs.
 
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Pima -

Thanks for the feedback. I will try again with your contact information today. Appreciate it!
 
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