Academics
VMI has what's known as the Miller Academic Center. Right across the hall is the Writing Center. A quick visit (less than 2 minutes) at The Citadel's website produced information on the Writing and Learning Strategies Program. Virginia Tech has the Center for Academic Enrichment and Excellence, and Mary Baldwin College (VWIL) has the Learning Skills Center. Every SMC will have a similar program/center. Go early, go often. Frankly, you're in college now, not high school. If you never had to study in high school but still got higher than a 3.5, I'm going to be brutally honest: you've got the GPA to get accepted to your SMC of choice, but you don't have the study skills you'll need to succeed there. Take advantage of the academic support resources that are available to you.
Never prioritize your to-do list by who's yelling the loudest. You'll have to get everything done (and you'll be held accountable when you don't), but never forget that academics come first. You'll have to do some pushups if your shoes aren't perfect, and you might get a few demerits if your Cadre can't see his ugly, sneering face in your brass. But your professors won't scream at you before failing you. This doesn't mean you shouldn't shine your shoes; it just means that you shouldn't spend all night (supper formation 'til Taps) perfecting your uniform. Face it, you're a rat/knob/rook/nULL/fish/swab/plebe anyway. You'll never meet their standards.
You aren't really as busy as you think you are. You'll think I'm NUTS for saying that, because you will likely be facing time management emergencies like never before. But don't forget that you can do homework during the day, too! Many rats and upperclassmen alike at VMI talk about how they never have time to get all their work done, but they waste time on Facebook or checking their email every five seconds during their free class periods when they could easily knock out some of their assignments between classes.
GET OUT OF BARRACKS! If you study in barracks, your Brother Rats will be constantly coming into your room for various reasons. Someone needs to borrow your shoe polish, someone else wants to borrow your brasso, another person wants you to help them learn rifle manual, and before you know it half the company is in your room swapping Ratline stories. It can be hard to motivate yourself to go out and study. I can't speak for the other SMCs, but at VMI, you have to be in a proper uniform in academic buildings. You can be more comfortable (gym shirt and shorts) in your room. But the effort it takes to go out to the library or an academic building is worth it to skip the distractions so you can get your work done in a timely manner. At VMI, the Biology Department has study carrels for each Biology major out in the Science Building. The Engineers go out to Nichols Engineering Hall to study in the labs at night. Many of the NCAA teams have mandatory study halls (with reserved rooms) for rat athletes. I took over a room in Scott Shipp Hall my First Class year (many of the profis in the Modern Languages Department referred to it as my office). Find what works for you, and stick with it. It's a little easier to get stuff accomplished in barracks as an upperclassman, because you can put your headphones on to reduce distractions. But there were some nights as a General Committee (cadet government) subcommittee president and Cadet Chaplain my First Class year that I was so busy in the line of "duty" that I didn't even get to start studying until after Taps (11:30pm). On nights when I had a ton of homework (most every night, as a First
), I
had to get out of barracks so I could get it done. It's important to form good study habits early on.
Be wise with study buddies. It's best to study with someone who is struggling a little (hopefully not in the same areas you are!
) but is committed to doing well. If they're at the C level but really want a B, you can work together to sort things out. I always got annoyed when people who slept through class wanted me to help them, and when people who never took notes in class suddenly wanted to copy mine when it came time to take a test. It's good to study with someone who's smarter than you, because they can explain it to you in the way that made sense to them, which may very well be different from how the professor explained it in class. It's also really good to study with someone who's struggling a little more than you, because you learn so much more when you teach it to someone else. It's one thing to understand it in your head, but it's completely different to be able to articulate it in such a way that it makes sense to others.
One of the strengths of the academic program at VMI is that, for the most part, the professors are there because they love teaching and they love working with cadets. I'm sure it's very similar at The Citadel and Norwich, although I'm not entirely sure how it is at some of the bigger name (research) schools that have Corps of Cadets or regular ROTC programs. Take advantage of this! You've got a Ph.D (as opposed to a grad assistant) teaching you. If you don't understand something, you can go talk to an expert in the field during office hours! Getting to know your professors through talking with them out of class is an excellent way of beginning to form a professional network within your field, especially if you do undergraduate research. I use my Department Head, my Academic Advisor and one of my English professors as references for job applications all the time. I knew my Department Head and Ac Advisor my whole cadetship, but I didn't have a class with the English professor 'til spring of Second Class (junior) year. It pays to work hard and talk with your professors outside of class!