VMI vs. The Citadel (this thread is for school bashing!)

[DSL1990]

so after first hoping for this, and then not hoping for it, i received my big envelope from the Citadel today.

when i was originally applying for my nrotc scholarship, i decided that my 1st choice was VMI, 2nd was the Citadel, 3rd was Texas A&M, 4th was Virginia Tech and 5th was Embry-Riddle. since then, i got accepted to my 1st and 5th choice, and after getting input from a bunch of places, including AW, i revised the order to be 1 vmi, 2 embry-riddle, and the others. but now, since i got my envelope from the citadel today (which i had dreaded a bit recently), now i have to decide where the citadel sits in my list, or more importantly, if it can compete for 1st, since i can only go to 1 college!

now i've already visited vmi in an official overnight visit, i was very impressed. but the citadel official overnight isn't until april, and then it takes up 2 school days. my highschool only gives seniors 3 excused absences to visit colleges and i've already used up one with vmi. i'll definitely go look at the citadel, but i don't think i can afford to use up the last two excused absences on visiting them in their special event- although i'm not admitted yet to Texas A&M, aggiecorps has already invited me to their overnighter also. but i don't think i will be able to do the citadel justice an random 1 day visit.

so...

i thought i would ask you current and former vmi and citadel students what made you decide on one versus the other? now, this is NOT FOR SCHOOL BASHING! these are two excellent schools, both better than usna i'm sure! (ok! that was a j/k! :icon_wink) i just would like to hear some opinions from people, especially any that had gotten accepted to both, on what were the things that made their decision.

(and if you would rather not post your opinions, you can send a note to me in a PM.)

thanks much!

by the way, i'm posting my question here on AW instead of serviceacademyforums.com because i've been on here long enough to see that people on here have strong opinions. on serviceacademyforums.com, i'll probably get a bunch of wishy washy answers!

 

[jt71582]

Congratulations on your acceptance to two excellent schools. I won't be much help as far as which to choose, but wanted to drop you some insight.

I went to Virginia Tech for a year before I had to transfer out due to family issues. Bummer you didn't make it in to Tech, because I loved that place for its balance of civilian and military college experiences (also for the VT vs. VMI antics) - some of you Keydets may remember the VMI Alpha Co. guidon disappearing for a night.

Anyhoo - you should look at location, facilities, and what you want to get out of military school. The military training will be comparable to both. And no matter where you go, your first year - "rat year" - will suck, but the rewards are great so don't give up. Looks like VMI would be closer to home for you, if that matters. On the other hand, Charleston is an awesome town and I imagine it would be a great environment in which to study.

Again, sorry for pointing out the obvious. I just wanted to wish you good luck and congratulations.

 

[Flash]

As a graduate of the Citadel and someone who has very good friends who went to VMI, they are not very different from each other. There are certainly differences, VMI's football team sucks even worse than the Citadel's, but in the end they are just about as similar as you can get for two different schools.

I do have to say that the biggest difference between the two schools is their location. VMI is out in the boondocks of Virginia next to a very small town while the Citadel is in one of the most beautiful cities in the country, Charleston. If this tells you anything, a good buddy of mine, and VMI grad, would have much preferred to have taught ROTC at El Cid than VMI. Believe it or not, that was the biggest factor in my decision to go to the Citadel vs VMI.

Other than that, the quality of education, the bonds that you have with fellow cadets and eventually grads and your chances of getting into the Navy are just about the same.

As for Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Norwich and others, the corps of cadets is only a part of the student body, sometimes a small part. Personally, I think the miltary aspect loses a bit when you are surrounded by regular students who end up wearing the same ring as you. VMI and the Citadel (with a few exceptions) are all cadet schools. The Citadel has a night school for civilians, but it is effectively a different college and cadets don't ever deal with them.

 

[jt71582]

Rep points for above.

Consider what environment you seek. At tech, sometimes it was tough because you had a lot more temptation to seek the civilian lifestyle just because you were surrounded by it. I'm sure The Citadel and VMI cadets/keydets also have this temptation, but sometimes it's hard when you have that much more pressure or influence around you. Sometimes teachers don't understand, or make exceptions due to Corps-related conflicts, etc. because you are a military institution inside of a larger civilian university.

But I digress - it sounds like you are choosing just between VMI and The Citadel. So, Charleston or BFE Virginia (don't get me wrong, it's beautiful there as well) is basically the difference. On a side note, El Cid seems to be getting better at football if that matters to you, but as long as my boy Armanti Edwards #14 is playing for Appalachian (woot) State, good luck winning a SoCon title. But VMI's team is pretty awful as I understand as well.

 

[jollygreen07]

Having never even been to VMI's campus, I can only speak from my time at The Citadel, and maybe give you a recent grad's perspective.

As with anything, your individual mileage may vary. You'll hate life alot (all through your time there) but there will times when you are out with your classmates on a beautiful evening in Charleston (+1 to the comment about it being the most beautiful city in the country) and you wouldn't trade that time for any drunken party at X college.

You will do things your friends don't understand, and it will make you more mature than them in some ways (less in others, but the motto is that The Citadel takes 18yr old men and turns them into 22 yr old boys.) Because they won't know what it's like to get up at 0500* to do a sweep detail and not get to bed until midnight because you have to be completely shined up for the next morning's sweep detail. This is on top of your your academic duties, as well. This lasts all year. Not until February like VMI. Alot of is is assinine bullshit, but it teaches you to manage your time well, and learn to prioritize. That's probably something you'd find at any military school, though.

I'm not trying to sound like a recruiting agent. Trust me, Its not a place I would recommend to many people. But, if you want to go to a non federal military academy where the corps of cadets is still the main focus, and actually have something to look forward to on the weekends (after the mandatory football game and morning inspection on Saturday) The Citadel is probably your place.

Hope this helps.

*This was the '03-'04 time frame, it's changed by now. They don't like upperclassmen bothering the knobs (that's what they call freshmen) before 0600 now.

 

[scoober78]

I'm not trying to sound like a recruiting agent, trust me, Its not a place I would recommend to many people, but if you want to go to a non federal military academy...words words words...

Why exactly would you want to do this? Go to a non-federal military academy. (Sorta a contradiction in terms eh?)

Don't get me wrong here...please. This is a real question for those of you who want to and or did go to one of these schools.

 

[VIZKRIEG]

I know you probably didn't mean anything by it Flash, but Norwich is in no way like VT or Texas A&M, the Corps is the majority of the school. Also, from what I understand about the other two, the Corps is largely a 9-5, weekday, type of experience.

/End threadjack

 

[jollygreen07]

Why exactly would you want to do this? Go to a non-federal military academy. (Sorta a contradiction in terms eh?)

Again, it varies with the individual. Some of my buddies were made to go there by their dads (they were the shitbags, for the most part.) Some just didn't want to be like everyone else (I'm gonna rebel by conforming!!!)

As for me, I was like many and wanted the military structure, but didn't have the grades to get into Annapolis. I got a NROTC 3yr leadership scholarship, so I only had to pay about $6K total for my time there, so I wasn't being totally masochistic.. Totally..

 

[jt71582]

I know you probably didn't mean anything by it Flash, but Norwich is in no way like VT or Texas A&M, the Corps is the majority of the school. Also, from what I understand about the other two, the Corps is largely a 9-5, weekday, type of experience.

/End threadjack

Indeed, unless you are a freshman. They take a ton of your weekends too, but you are correct in my humble opinion, that the Norwich guys and girls are much closer to VMI/Citadel in lifestyle.

 

[Navyfan06]

Why exactly would you want to do this? Go to a non-federal military academy. (Sorta a contradiction in terms eh?)

Don't get me wrong here...please. This is a real question for those of you who want to and or did go to one of these schools.

Scoober- There are a few types that go to El Cid. 1st is the folks whos families when there and its a tradition for them but may or may not want a military career 2. The people who want a military career and 3. the people who have no interest in a military career but want the connections that come with the school.

Most people, (from my classmates at least) Jolly - correct me if I am wrong - go in with the idea they want some sort of military career then find out they may not be qualified, or realize they don't want to go into the military maybe they want to go to grad school or something like that. Also too there are a lot of kids who have it both ways and do the National Guard/ Reserves thing.

 

[AllAmerican75]

I chose VMI because I liked the atmosphere. It's not in a large party town, so I don't have that distraction. I'm locked down much like a prison, so I'm forced to study, not go out drinking and partying every night like I would have at a normal college. I also wanted and needed the discipline. I am not the same person I was when I Matriculated on 19 August 2006. That six months of the Ratline was tough. Mentally, physically, spiritually. No if, ands, or buts. No matter where you go, it will be the same way.

Also, there is something to be said about the type of person it takes to get up at the crack of dawn to go and stand in the freezing cold, and then march down to chow, only to face a full day of classes and other duties. In my first four months at the Mother I, I did more than any of my friends from high school did in their entire freshman year.

That being said, no matter where you go you'll only get out of the experience what you put in. If you go, go full tilt and put out 100%, no less. Best of luck, and I hope to see you straining in the Fall.

EDITED TO ADD: The following links might help you in your search for information. I was in your shoes not too long ago, though it seems like it's been forever.

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13177

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132141

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13294

 

[DanMa1156]

That being said, no matter where you go you'll only get out of the experience what you put in. If you go, go full tilt and put out 100%, no less. Best of luck, and I hope to see you straining in the Fall.

SOLID advice. I obviously can't speak for the non-Federal Academies, but I think people often forget why they come in the first place, unfortunately.

 

[wingsB4rings]

Either school would be a bad short term investment, but a great long term investment. A good friend of mine went to vmi and said that while every waking moment felt like a dildo up the ass, it was awesome graduating and feels like he actually accomplished something worthwhile, something you won't really find at any ROTC or A&M/VT. In essence, I think most would agree that if you are willing to do the time, you'll be glad you did (and proud of it) later.

Then flip a coin to decide where you go.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Either school would be a bad short term investment, but a great long term investment. A good friend of mine went to vmi and said that while every waking moment felt like a dildo up the ass, it was awesome graduating and feels like he actually accomplished something worthwhile, something you won't really find at any ROTC or A&M/VT. In essence, I think most would agree that if you are willing to do the time, you'll be glad you did (and proud of it) later.

Then flip a coin to decide where you go.

Do you know what Class he was in?

 

[wingsB4rings]

Do you know what Class he was in?

2006