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First-Year Cadet Class Profile

Large groups of new cadets and their training cadre stand in formation on the sidewalks in front of Lane Hall.
The first milestone of New Cadet Week is completing evening formation in front of parents on M-Day, after only a few short hours of drill instruction. Photo by Katie Mallory for Virginia Tech.

Meet the Corps’ Class of 2029

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Class of 2029 arrived for M-Day on Aug. 15, which marked the beginning of New Cadet Week, a nine-day session of basic military instruction focused on followership, teamwork, confidence, resilience, fitness, and service to others. During New Cadet Week, first-year students (called “new cadets”) are introduced to military drill, uniforms, customs and courtesies, corps and university history, and participate in college orientation and Weeks of Welcome sessions. 

New cadets stand in two lines on a sidewalk outside the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building.
The roughly 40-minute check-in process was completed on M-Day by 11:30 a.m. During check-in, new cadets rotated through stations to complete paperwork, screenings, and receive uniform items. Photo by Katie Mallory for Virginia Tech.

The makeup of the Class of 2029

This information is based on data pulled from the Class of 2029 Corps enrollment information on August 14, 2025.

  • Class size: 515 (the largest first-year cadet class since 1965)
  • Demographic breakdown: 71.8 percent of the class are men and 28.1 percent are women.
  • Colleges: All Virginia Tech colleges are represented across the corps’ Class of 2029. The top five colleges represented in the class are the College of Engineering (42 percent), the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (18 percent), the College of Science (15 percent), Pamplin College of Business (14 percent), and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (6 percent).
  • Military and Citizen-Leader Track enrollment: Cadets choose between two tracks to prepare them for employment after graduation. 82 percent of the Class of 2029 is enrolled in the Military Track (27 percent in Army ROTC, 24.8 percent in Navy ROTC (including Marine-Option), and 30.2 percent in Air Force ROTC) while 18 percent are enrolled in the corps’ Citizen-Leader Track seeking employment in public and private industry or graduate school upon graduation.
  • Academic averages: The average high school GPA for the cadet class was 3.97. The average SAT score was 1322 with 660 for evidence-based reading and writing and 656 for mathematics. 
New cadets in uniform sit in a darkened auditorium facing a speaker and screen.
After saying goodbye to loved ones, new cadets filled McBryde Hall during their first briefing on expectations for training. Photo by Katie Mallory for Virginia Tech.

Rankings, extracurriculars, and more

  • High school class rank: 40.9 percent of the Class of 2029 were among the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, 69.2 percent finished in the top 20 percent, 87.5 percent finished in the top 30 percent and 91.3 percent finished in the top 50 percent.
  • Varsity sport: 60.2 percent of the class participated in a varsity sport.
  • Worldwide: The Class of 2029 in-processing stats show cadets were admitted from 32 U.S. states and seven different countries. 
  • Legacy cadets: Five percent of the Class of 2029 have a relative who is an alumnus of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets

 

See more Class of 2029 New Cadet Week photos on Flickr and watch Corps videos on YouTube.

Nine new cadets in uniform stand in a line facing two cadet instructors teaching them about drill.
During military drill, new cadets learn how to follow commands as a unit. Drill emphasizes the importance of teamwork, discipline, unity, and attention to detail, and was a frequent activity during New Cadet Week. Photo by Katie Mallory for Virginia Tech.