Va Tech is an SMC (Senior Military College). If you join ROTC at Va Tech (regardless of the branch) you will become part of the Corp of Cadets. The Corp lives together, trains together, and to a certain degree simulate the environment that you would have if you attended West Point, USAFA, or USNA.
Va. Tech and Texas A&M are unique in that the Corp is but a small part of the larger school so there are opportunities for a "normal" college experience and a military school experience at the same time. You won't get that at the SA's, The Citadel or VMI. It will though be far more structured than a typical ROTC program at Big State U.
I would recommend you try to visit the campus if they allow it. Va Tech has recently built new dorms for the Corp that are very nice and it's a good way to see if you like the balance they try to strike between a military school and a normal college experience. In a normal year, they also do a spend the night with the Corp program but that will likely not happen this admissions cycle.