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VMI, The Citadel, or VTCC?
- Thread starter AllAmerican75
- Start date
I went to vmi so my opinion is probably biased. I majored in mechanical engineering on a 4 year navy scholarship. Going there was easily one of the best decisions I ever made. The navy department there is small and the people that work there are great and very professional. Every person who applied for pilot got it(like most schools I guess?). There were 5 sna's in my class....me and two other of my classmates are in meridian and the other guys are helo's. 3 of those guys were div 1 athletes; the navy department works great with student athletics. If you succeed at vmi chances are pretty good that you'll do just fine in flight school. At least that is what I have observed.
...what exactly are you saying?
What the hell is "Mandatory Fun"?
I am not sure about being miserable all the time, but the things Cadets find fun are not what normal college students would find "fun." For example...rain on friday afternnon = NO Parade or putting up Christmas lights in the battalion or running shit on upperclassmen as a knob. EL Cid hasent always been the the funnest time, but I wouldent trade it for anything, nor would I do it again. Senior year has been great so far, a nice gold ring then come May it will be great to get commissioned and get my degree :icon_mi_6 If you have any questions about the Citadel just let me know. :icon_smil :icon_smil
While was still back here on the East Coast, I went and visited VMI and Virginia Tech and I got a couple questions?
@VMI
What are the rooms like? I've seen pictures and I got a quick glimpse of a room and I did not see a single rack, do they fold out or do y'all sleep on the floor? What's a daily schedule like?
@VTCC
Does it suck to wear the uniform around all the regular civilian students?
Feel free to email or PM me. Thanks.
@VMI
What are the rooms like? I've seen pictures and I got a quick glimpse of a room and I did not see a single rack, do they fold out or do y'all sleep on the floor? What's a daily schedule like?
@VTCC
Does it suck to wear the uniform around all the regular civilian students?
Feel free to email or PM me. Thanks.
i was told by a guy that went to VMI that the beds fold out... F that. And they had like 4-5 guys per room.
for the VT question: yeah, it sucks...but you only wear it to class. Technically your suppose to wear it to dinner and such, but i never did, i always went to the other side of campus to eat with a girl or my buddies. And you dont wear it on the weekends. Most guys find ways around it. If you have a lab, you can wear camo or PT gear (sweats, t-shirt), and you just schedule your classes next to that one :thumbup_1
the corps is large enough that it has a significant presence on campus, and its just normal to see guys in uniform, no big deal. Unless you become a big corps nerd, then yeah, its gay.
oh, one note... the ladies in slusher tower have been known to jump a man in uniform if he goes strolling down the hall :icon_smil
for the VT question: yeah, it sucks...but you only wear it to class. Technically your suppose to wear it to dinner and such, but i never did, i always went to the other side of campus to eat with a girl or my buddies. And you dont wear it on the weekends. Most guys find ways around it. If you have a lab, you can wear camo or PT gear (sweats, t-shirt), and you just schedule your classes next to that one :thumbup_1
the corps is large enough that it has a significant presence on campus, and its just normal to see guys in uniform, no big deal. Unless you become a big corps nerd, then yeah, its gay.
oh, one note... the ladies in slusher tower have been known to jump a man in uniform if he goes strolling down the hall :icon_smil
AllAmerican75 said:
It's a term for military social functions, which as an officer, you're not officially required to go to, but in reality you are expected to attend.
At VMI the beds are called "racks." They are all wood with legs that fold out. (Think a piece of plywood in the middle supported by 2x4's) The mattress is the same as you find in enlisted berthing on a ship. Every morning your roll your mattress up and stack it against a wall with your roommates' and the racks fold up and stack against a wall also. The rooms vary in size. My rat year I had 5 guys in my room, but it was a huge room, and turned out to be alot of fun that year. The rest of my time there I had a slightly smaller room and there were 4 of us. There are a few 3 man rooms and if enough people from your class leave/get kicked out, you might end up in a room with only 2 guys, but that is very rare.
The daily schedule changes depending on the week, whether its a weekend, etc. But here was a typical weekday when I was there.
0500 Rats get woken up for PT, workouts, punishment, training etc.
0700 Reville, the entire Corps forms up in front of Barracks and marches down to breakfast. All racks must be up before formation. Rats get worked out/punished/trained after chow.
0800-1200 Classes. Typically there are 4 class periods during this time. If a rat happens to not have a class and is seen in barracks he can be stopped, quizzed on Rat Bible knowledge and worked out/punished until his next class.
1200-1300 Lunch time. Sometimes they make Rats, and Thirds form up and march down. After eating, this is a "fun" workout time for rats. This is when the upperclass can put their racks back down.
1300-1600 Afternoon classes. Typically labs and ROTC.
1600-1800 For the corps, its PT time. There are requirements on what workouts you can do in this time. Or you can play a sport, intramural, join a club, etc. Rats have more workout/punishment/training time and "Rat Challenge" where they do "teambuilding" exercises and workouts. If its a Friday all of this is replaced by a military parade.
1800-1900 Dinner formation for the entire corps, with a marchdown to the chowhall. After eating the rats are again worked out/punished/trained.
1900-2245 Study time. You are supposed to either be in your room, or an academic building studying. Obviously this doesnt always happen, but you arent allowed to leave post.
2245-2300 CQRB A designated workout/punishment time for rats. Barracks turns into chaos during this time. This is when rats can finally put their racks back down.
2300 Taps, all Cadets must be in their rooms at this time. From 2300-0500 you must be in your room unless you are signed out for late study in an academic building.
That is the basic schedule. Weekends hold more parades, football games, more fun for the rats, etc. Tuesdays and Thursdays, you have fewer classes in the morning, but you throw in a mandatory corps formation where you go listen to a speaker for an hour, do a parade, etc. Sundays are quiet days. No morning or lunch formations, you may leave post to go to Church. There is a dinner formation, study time, CQRB and Taps.
The daily schedule changes depending on the week, whether its a weekend, etc. But here was a typical weekday when I was there.
0500 Rats get woken up for PT, workouts, punishment, training etc.
0700 Reville, the entire Corps forms up in front of Barracks and marches down to breakfast. All racks must be up before formation. Rats get worked out/punished/trained after chow.
0800-1200 Classes. Typically there are 4 class periods during this time. If a rat happens to not have a class and is seen in barracks he can be stopped, quizzed on Rat Bible knowledge and worked out/punished until his next class.
1200-1300 Lunch time. Sometimes they make Rats, and Thirds form up and march down. After eating, this is a "fun" workout time for rats. This is when the upperclass can put their racks back down.
1300-1600 Afternoon classes. Typically labs and ROTC.
1600-1800 For the corps, its PT time. There are requirements on what workouts you can do in this time. Or you can play a sport, intramural, join a club, etc. Rats have more workout/punishment/training time and "Rat Challenge" where they do "teambuilding" exercises and workouts. If its a Friday all of this is replaced by a military parade.
1800-1900 Dinner formation for the entire corps, with a marchdown to the chowhall. After eating the rats are again worked out/punished/trained.
1900-2245 Study time. You are supposed to either be in your room, or an academic building studying. Obviously this doesnt always happen, but you arent allowed to leave post.
2245-2300 CQRB A designated workout/punishment time for rats. Barracks turns into chaos during this time. This is when rats can finally put their racks back down.
2300 Taps, all Cadets must be in their rooms at this time. From 2300-0500 you must be in your room unless you are signed out for late study in an academic building.
That is the basic schedule. Weekends hold more parades, football games, more fun for the rats, etc. Tuesdays and Thursdays, you have fewer classes in the morning, but you throw in a mandatory corps formation where you go listen to a speaker for an hour, do a parade, etc. Sundays are quiet days. No morning or lunch formations, you may leave post to go to Church. There is a dinner formation, study time, CQRB and Taps.
One thing that these schools teach you is that your net worth is your integrity, which is valuable for anyone who wants to become a leader and military officer. True, the methods of indoctrination and living conditions will seem arcane to an outsider, yet I would rather rely upon someone who has a shared experience than someone who had "fun" in college.
Disclaimer: I am not an officer nor have I attended any military academy.
I already graduated college and am trying for OCC, so it is moot for me, but I was just curious: don't only like 40% of Citadel grads decide to go on to actually join the military? What are the rates like at VMI or Norwich? - I hope I did not hallucinate that statistic - it has been known to happen before.
Personally, in retrospect, it seems that if I had not enlisted and I could not do USNA, that NROTC at a place like Notre Dame or Villanova or whatever the best reputable school I could get in would be a great idea to me: get the same scholarship money with "less hassle." I don't think I would want to be a "knob" or a "rat" or whatever if I still had to end up doing OCS anyway, unless they now have soriety girls running around there. At least the "plebes" at Annapolis sometimes can do an insert school between semesters and get to do Leatherneck in place of OCS.
When I think about having already done boot camp and the FMF and starting anew again anyway it seems to me that getting your ass busted at a military college for four years and having to start just like everyone else at Bulldog, or whatever, could be frustrating. Not that it is not an exceptional experience for all I know and anything more than speculation. I just could not help but draw up an analogy to my own situation and if I could set back time I would have done NROTC after high school instead of enlisting and if I wanted to get some hazing in before my time - I would have just pledged at a frat.
Just could not help but put my $.02 in, even if I am talking out my ass.
Good luck with whatever you do.
S/F
I already graduated college and am trying for OCC, so it is moot for me, but I was just curious: don't only like 40% of Citadel grads decide to go on to actually join the military? What are the rates like at VMI or Norwich? - I hope I did not hallucinate that statistic - it has been known to happen before.
Personally, in retrospect, it seems that if I had not enlisted and I could not do USNA, that NROTC at a place like Notre Dame or Villanova or whatever the best reputable school I could get in would be a great idea to me: get the same scholarship money with "less hassle." I don't think I would want to be a "knob" or a "rat" or whatever if I still had to end up doing OCS anyway, unless they now have soriety girls running around there. At least the "plebes" at Annapolis sometimes can do an insert school between semesters and get to do Leatherneck in place of OCS.
When I think about having already done boot camp and the FMF and starting anew again anyway it seems to me that getting your ass busted at a military college for four years and having to start just like everyone else at Bulldog, or whatever, could be frustrating. Not that it is not an exceptional experience for all I know and anything more than speculation. I just could not help but draw up an analogy to my own situation and if I could set back time I would have done NROTC after high school instead of enlisting and if I wanted to get some hazing in before my time - I would have just pledged at a frat.
Just could not help but put my $.02 in, even if I am talking out my ass.
Good luck with whatever you do.
S/F
Thanks for your help Lowflier. What's a schedule like for VTCC? Also, I've heard stories of guys sneaking-out of the barracks at night at places like the Citadel and VMI. Is that common? Just curious.