Info on VMI and Citadel

Cots ?

Hello All - well I learned something new ....no beds ! Cots ! Thanks for that little tidbit of info....My DS is in waiting mode now for VMI.....waiting waiting
 
Hello All - well I learned something new ....no beds ! Cots ! Thanks for that little tidbit of info....My DS is in waiting mode now for VMI.....waiting waiting

Actually, not even cots. More like wooden planks on which the cadets roll and unroll their "hay" every single day. And in order to move around the spartan room, they then lean the planks up against the wall for the day.
 
Actually, not even cots. More like wooden planks on which the cadets roll and unroll their "hay" every single day. And in order to move around the spartan room, they then lean the planks up against the wall for the day.

The hays are mattresses. Not Stearns and Foster with a pillow top, but significantly more comfortable than a cot. Yes, the racks are wooden planks that fold up; however, as noted above, that is just the frame.

A VMI cadet loves his hay. :thumb:
 
Racks, Posts, Decks and Hay

So I mentionned cots to my DS and he rectified my vocabulary and told me that he knew all about it....having spent the night and all. Thanks for posting those pictures Bruno - because I'd never seen inside the barracks before.
 
My DS is applying to VMI and Citadel. Any perspective from current students or parents would be extrememly helpful (good and bad). He will be a Biology major with an eye on pre-med. Would like to commission as of now. Info on Rotc scholarships also helpful.
Thanks

My son received congressional appointments for all three Service Academies but wanted Annapolis. After overnighting at The Citadel and VMI, he chose The Citadel as his backup. The primary reason was the location (VMI really is in the middle of nowhere and Charleston is breathtakingly beautiful and a fun place to be, particularly with the spectacularly beautiful young ladies at College of Charleston right down the road!), and the fact that the knob year is a full year, rather than the semester at VMI.

When he wasn't accepted to USNA, he became a Bulldog. He's in his knob year now, so I can only tell you about what happens up to this point. This is in no way a criticism of VMI, about which I know nothing, and which I am sure is an equally fine school.

My son is presently a Civil Engineering major but intends to change to Biology. He says that the head of the Bio Department is a terrific guy and very, very helpful, if that's of any use to you.

The Citadel has an excellent program called the College Success Institute, or CSI. It's four weeks in the summer and it gives them a real taste of life at the school. Although the fourth-class (Knob) system is not in effect during the summer, they learn a LOT about life at the school, they take an academic class for credit, and there is a lot of PT. The students who attend CSI have only a 7% attrition rate during the school year, as opposed to 23% for those who don't attend CSI. I think it is the best investment we ever made.

Knob year is hell, and that is not an exaggeration. I believe that approximately 100 knobs (out of 730) have left so far and many more won't come back after Christmas. There does seem to be some confusion on some of the sites about their interaction with civilians, and there isn't any. They don't live with them, eat with them, or do anything else with them outside of occasionally seeing one in a classroom. They do have fellow knobs who are or have been active duty and that is a very exciting experience for my son, who intends to commission at the end of his four years. There was a beautiful 9/11 Memorial Service which I attended because I was in SC that week for vacation, and the speaker was an Afghanistan vet who is now third-class at The Citadel and he was just very, very impressive.

The emotional abuse is unbelievable. I have had teary phone calls from a boy who could probably withstand walking on hot coals. We are not from that area (many, many states away) so getting down there is not possible except for Parents' Weekend last week, and I spend a lot of time reminding him that this is what he wanted and that he will have to gut it out. One of the most difficult things at the start is the heat; South Carolina is like a giant swamp and temperatures above 100 are not unusual. Last weekend it was 80 the entire weekend and it's October. Some of the knobs cannot handle the heat and that's another reason why CSI is a great idea. If they can run in July and August down there, they can survive anything!

The academic demands are different than a regular college because in addition to homework and studying (which is constantly interrupted during knob year by upperclassmen kicking doors in, turning drawers over, etc.--a smart knob learns to study in classroom buildings or the library, where they are "safe" from the distractions) there is shoe-polishing, ironing, and brass-cleaning, as well as the requirement of tip-top condition of their rooms for Saturday Morning Inspection. There are punishments for missing class, or formation. No matter what a knob does or doesn't do, it's wrong, and that's part of the culture and the training. From a distance I think it's all silly, but it's a system which has been in place for 150 years and it works. I can't adequately describe the changes it has made in my son.

A large percentage of the students are from the South, which makes it easier for their families to see them, and that is a hardship on students from the North or the West, as homesickness is a big problem. If your boy makes friends easily that will help, I think. My son often goes to the home of his roommate on Saturday or Sunday. Even though they have to be back at night it gives them a place to get out of uniform and to eat or sleep that is off campus.

I know that I have run on. The last thing that I want to say is that in my opinion the biggest asset that The Citadel has in addition to a beautiful campus and a successful system is John Rosa, who is the president. He was the Superintendent of the Air Force Academy, and when he retired he came to The Citadel as President. He is a graduate. His son went there. He is one of the most impressive people I have ever met and if my son turns out like President Rosa I will die a happy mom.

Good luck to your son whichever school he chooses.
 
My son received congressional appointments for all three Service Academies but wanted Annapolis. After overnighting at The Citadel and VMI, he chose The Citadel as his backup. The primary reason was the location (VMI really is in the middle of nowhere and Charleston is breathtakingly beautiful and a fun place to be, particularly with the spectacularly beautiful young ladies at College of Charleston right down the road!), and the fact that the knob year is a full year, rather than the semester at VMI.

When he wasn't accepted to USNA, he became a Bulldog. He's in his knob year now, so I can only tell you about what happens up to this point. This is in no way a criticism of VMI, about which I know nothing, and which I am sure is an equally fine school.

My son is presently a Civil Engineering major but intends to change to Biology. He says that the head of the Bio Department is a terrific guy and very, very helpful, if that's of any use to you.

The Citadel has an excellent program called the College Success Institute, or CSI. It's four weeks in the summer and it gives them a real taste of life at the school. Although the fourth-class (Knob) system is not in effect during the summer, they learn a LOT about life at the school, they take an academic class for credit, and there is a lot of PT. The students who attend CSI have only a 7% attrition rate during the school year, as opposed to 23% for those who don't attend CSI. I think it is the best investment we ever made.

Knob year is hell, and that is not an exaggeration. I believe that approximately 100 knobs (out of 730) have left so far and many more won't come back after Christmas. There does seem to be some confusion on some of the sites about their interaction with civilians, and there isn't any. They don't live with them, eat with them, or do anything else with them outside of occasionally seeing one in a classroom. They do have fellow knobs who are or have been active duty and that is a very exciting experience for my son, who intends to commission at the end of his four years. There was a beautiful 9/11 Memorial Service which I attended because I was in SC that week for vacation, and the speaker was an Afghanistan vet who is now third-class at The Citadel and he was just very, very impressive.

The emotional abuse is unbelievable. I have had teary phone calls from a boy who could probably withstand walking on hot coals. We are not from that area (many, many states away) so getting down there is not possible except for Parents' Weekend last week, and I spend a lot of time reminding him that this is what he wanted and that he will have to gut it out. One of the most difficult things at the start is the heat; South Carolina is like a giant swamp and temperatures above 100 are not unusual. Last weekend it was 80 the entire weekend and it's October. Some of the knobs cannot handle the heat and that's another reason why CSI is a great idea. If they can run in July and August down there, they can survive anything!

The academic demands are different than a regular college because in addition to homework and studying (which is constantly interrupted during knob year by upperclassmen kicking doors in, turning drawers over, etc.--a smart knob learns to study in classroom buildings or the library, where they are "safe" from the distractions) there is shoe-polishing, ironing, and brass-cleaning, as well as the requirement of tip-top condition of their rooms for Saturday Morning Inspection. There are punishments for missing class, or formation. No matter what a knob does or doesn't do, it's wrong, and that's part of the culture and the training. From a distance I think it's all silly, but it's a system which has been in place for 150 years and it works. I can't adequately describe the changes it has made in my son.

A large percentage of the students are from the South, which makes it easier for their families to see them, and that is a hardship on students from the North or the West, as homesickness is a big problem. If your boy makes friends easily that will help, I think. My son often goes to the home of his roommate on Saturday or Sunday. Even though they have to be back at night it gives them a place to get out of uniform and to eat or sleep that is off campus.

I know that I have run on. The last thing that I want to say is that in my opinion the biggest asset that The Citadel has in addition to a beautiful campus and a successful system is John Rosa, who is the president. He was the Superintendent of the Air Force Academy, and when he retired he came to The Citadel as President. He is a graduate. His son went there. He is one of the most impressive people I have ever met and if my son turns out like President Rosa I will die a happy mom.

Good luck to your son whichever school he chooses.

jimzwife- thanks for the Citadel summary and thanks for a really informative first post. :thumb: BTW: Citadel vs VMI football this weekend!
 
Great post jimzwife....my DS is a Rat at VMI this year so was really interested in your post regarding Citadel...some similarities, some differences from a couple great schools :thumb:
 
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