<p>Hello, I'm a prospective student trying to choose between accepting an ROTC scholarship to either Tech or UVA and simply going to tech as a regular student. I have a couple questions about the Corps that I was hoping could be answered:</p>
<ol>
<li> What are the uniform requirements and when do you get to wear civilian clothes? How does this change throughout the phases?</li>
<li> How much free time do you have to yourself wear you can hang out with students outside of the Corps, work out, or just relax? Would it be possible to have a serious relationship with someone?</li>
<li> How many friends do you have outside of the Corps compared to friends in the Corps?</li>
</ol>
<p>Any and all help/advice is appreciated. Thanks</p>
<p>I was not in the Corps but I lived on Upper Quad where the Corps dorms are, and I knew alot of cadets, and my son was considering whether to do the civilian option for the corps. So, here’s just a starter… First, check out the New Cadet Manual … it will go a long way to answering your questions. <a href=“https://www.vtcc.vt.edu/resources/manuals/new-cadet-week-manual.pdf”>https://www.vtcc.vt.edu/resources/manuals/new-cadet-week-manual.pdf</a></p>
<p>Free time, not much for the first several weeks, other than what is actually in the schedule as free time. Your movements are limited as well, in terms of permission to go off campus, etc… The restrictions gradually loosen during the first year. I dated a freshman cadet my freshman year (back in the '80s, but I don’t think the rules have gotten any stricter since then). Freshmen were only allowed to eat in the cadet dining room, but were allowed to have guests for lunch, so I ate with him there a few times. We went out on the weekends … dinner, Homecoming, movies, etc… - usually he was free one weekend night a week. He wore civilian clothes on our dates, but during the week he was always in uniform. And then there are corps functions like dining-outs, and military ball. So yes, people in the corps do date and have serious relationships with people not in the corps.</p>
<p>My guess is that your closest friends will be in the corps, just because you’ll be doing so much together and needing to work together as a team, but certainly you’ll have friends outside the corps as well.</p>
<p>Hope that helps </p>