New Cadet Week
Getting to Campus
The nearest commercial airport is the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) in Roanoke, Virginia, which is about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Blacksburg. The airport offers a snack bar, newsstand, and small bookstore. Airlines servicing the airport are Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta, and United Airlines.
See Parking Services' page here for several options for transportation from regional airports to campus.
If you arrive at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, the Smart Way Bus offers a $4 oneway/$8 roundtrip shuttle between the airport and campus. Their website can be reached here. If you will be arriving via the Smart Way Bus, please email corps@ vt.edu.
Find information as well as directions to campus and hotel information at our Google map link here. We recommend arriving the night before (on Aug. 13), since you will move in between 7:30 and 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14. All family events will conclude by 5:15 p.m.
Check-In Uniform:
Your prescribed attire for check in is:
- A proper haircut, or hair pulled back for female cadets
- Khaki pants with a black belt
A Tan 499 t-shirt (crew neck, from the packing list)
White athletic socks
Tennis/running shoes
Make sure you wear the belt and your shirt is tucked in. Male cadets must be cleanshaven before arrival. Cadets must remove all piercings before arrival.
New cadets who arrive without the prescribed haircut will be directed to a barber/hairstylist in town to complete this requirement before completing check-in.
If you need medical or religious accommodation, contact the Corps recruiting office (corps@vt.edu) as soon as possible.
Male new cadets should arrive with a “zero” haircut. Your barber will understand the term - it refers to the setting on the hair clipper.
Female new cadets may choose one of two options before arrival:
Option 1. Wear your hair down. It must not touch the top of your collar when wearing a collared shirt.
Option 2. It must be long enough to put into a ponytail.
Short/medium length hair that is too short to pull into a neat ponytail: Cut your hair short enough that it will not touch the top of a collared shirt collar. If you have bangs, cut them so that they do not fall below the eyebrows. It is important that you arrive with your hair cut to this standard since you will find it difficult to find the time to get a haircut once Forge Week begins.
Hair that is long enough to pull into a neat ponytail: Cut the length of your hair so that it does not extend beyond an imaginary straight line drawn along the bottom of your shoulder blades. For M-Day, place your hair into a neat ponytail centered, at the bottom of the back of your head using hair ties/barrettes/pins that match the color of your hair as much as possible, if needed.
During Forge Week, female upperclass cadets will show you how to arrange your hair to meet the uniform standards.
Check-In Unloading and Move-In Plan
The arrival of an entire class in a short amount of time requires a solid plan and the cooperation of all involved. Each new cadet is limited to four guests during move in.
To best use our available unloading areas, we have designated eight half-hour blocks between 7:30 and 11:30 a.m. to stagger arrival times and mitigate congestion.
Sign up for a time to arrive via the link in the Canvas course.
Choose only one arrival time and save it to your calendar. Each half-hour block has 60 openings. Once a block is full, it is no longer available.
For M-Day, we will send an email with your assigned company and building. Print the last page and place it in the righthand dashboard of your vehicle before approaching Alumni Mall.
All new cadets must arrive during M-Day. If you must arrive after check-in, you will be asked to enroll in the Corps of Cadets the following fall semester instead. If this is your case, contact the Corps recruiting office (corps@vt.edu) as soon as possible.
Let the Corps recruiting staff know you will be arriving alone by emailing corps@vt.edu prior to check-in day. You should follow the same unloading directions. Let the cadre in the unloading area know that you are alone and will need assistance parking your car.
Make sure you have already purchased your parking pass for the year and placed the hangtag in the window. You will not have a chance to return to your car during New Cadet Week.
You will move your car from the unloading area to the Duck Pond Road Lot (“the Cage”) with a cadet following in a Corps vehicle. The cadet will give you a ride back to the Corps Leadership & Military Science (CLMS) Building to finish the check-in process.
Do not forget to bring your Hokie Passport, your cellphone, and any needed Corps or ROTC paperwork and verification I.D.
Contact the Corps Recruiting Office at corps@vt.edu as soon as you have confirmed your travel plans. You must arrive on campus between 7:30 and 11 a.m. on move in day.
At your assigned time, be at the arrival location for your residence hall with your company/building pass displayed. Cadre will check you in and direct you to an open location to unload.
More detailed directions for unloading will be provided during Corps Orientation in July, the Town Halls throughout the summer, and posted to the canvas course.
Once all your gear is unloaded from your vehicle, you and your family will split up for M-Day.
New cadets: Proceed to check-in in the CLMS Building. You should have the following:
Your cellphone (for your family to call you)
Your ROTC paperwork that requires the original documents to be verified
Your Hokie Passport AND a valid driver's license, military ID, or passport. If you still need to pick up your Hokie Passport, you will be able to do so during the New Cadet Check-In process.
You will reconnect with your family in your room once you have completed check-in, which takes about 30 minutes.
Once all items have been removed from the car and placed on the sidewalk, all cars must be moved from the unloading zone to parking to allow the next time block of arriving families an opportunity to unload. No parking spots are located in the unloading zones.
Parking is available at the North End Center Parking Garage and your family will be given a parking voucher at the entrance (it will cover the $10.00 a day fee).
Residential mail services are not available until classes begin. However, your family will be able to mail letters (not packages) to you during Forge Week. If you need to mail a package that will arrive during New Cadet Week, mail it to the cadet's academic year address. It will be available for pickup after the New Cadet Parade, and cadets will receive an email with instructions on how to retrieve their package. If you must mail medication to arrive during New Cadet Week, contact the Corps recruiting office for a mailing address. Be sure to obtain a tracking number. Corps residence hall addresses are included in the downloadable handout.
Corps Fees
There are a few added fees for new cadets.
One-time New Cadet Fee: A $100 fee will be charged to your tuition bill to cover new cadet activities.
Each semester all cadets pay a Corps Fee of $240.
- An Early Meals Fee: Covers the cost of meals during New Cadet Week before the fall semester meal plan begins. We expect it to be approximately $155.
- Tailor Shop Fee: Approximately $1,235 per cadet will be billed to all cadets through their student account by the Bursar’s Office each fall semester.
- Cadets who meets the ROTC’s qualifications (e.g., enrolled when the commutation is determined, completing all ROTC forms, and passing your physical fitness test) will receive a commutation to help offset most of this fee. The amount of the commutation will vary by ROTC.
- Citizen-Leader Track cadets enrolled in the spring semester who meet the Corps’ requirements will also receive a commutation funded by the Corps. Scholarship opportunities for cadets will help offset these fees and are available to all cadets in good standing, with a minimum of a 2.0 GPA, and a FAFSA on file.
Budget Tuition
Pay part or all of your tuition, fees, dining and housing in monthly installments during the semester with no late fee or penalties. Sign-up for the Budget Tuition Plan by Virginia Tech here.
It costs $45/semester and enrollment opens in mid-July. The payment plan offers the option of paying the balance over 8-monthly installments (August - November and January - April).
What Happens During New Cadet Week
The purpose of New Cadet Week is to get the newest cadet class up to speed prior to the beginning of classes. Activities build mental and physical strength. University knowledge will be covered, including a general campus tour, briefings on university and cadet honor codes, and an introduction to some of the university's services.
Throughout New Cadet Week, your family can follow your progress as a class through the Commandant's Facebook page which will be updated daily with photos. You will have very limited access to electronics, including computers and phones, during this first week. Food, other than bottled water, is not permitted in your room this week. Ask your family to wait to send food care packages until after New Cadet Week.
Your general daily schedule will include a 5:45 a.m. wakeup, physical fitness, daily briefs, drill and manual of arms practice, the obstacle course and rappel tower (weather permitting), hygiene time, and bed by 10 p.m. Most of the week's focus is preparation for the New Cadet Parade.
Phones During New Cadet Week
You will be allowed to carry a cellphone and accept a call from family during in-processing to tell them your location and estimated return time to the residence hall until 1:00 p.m. After that, cellphone and smartwatch use are limited during New Cadet Week and are not used for personal communications. You will be given access to email twice per day to check for updates from the university about classes, orientation events, etc. During New Cadet Week, parents and families should not plan on communications from you via email or text.
Cellphones and smart watches are authorized after the New Cadet Parade and during the school year.
Weeks of Welcome
You will attend key Weeks of Welcome events during New Cadet Week. Learn more about Weeks of Welcome here.
The schedule of events will be available on the Hokies On Track app.
Be sure to download the app on your phone. It is the same app you used for your virtual New Student Orientation.
All new cadets must complete a Corps medical history. The Corps will not disqualify you for participation based on any medical conditions. We accommodate limitations for training that you have.
However, if you are considering joining an ROTC program and you have a medical issue, you should check with your ROTC about the likelihood that you might be medically disqualified to participate. In the past, new cadets with allergies to bee stings, prescribed inhalers after age 12, and knee surgeries have found it difficult to qualify to commission as officers. If you are medically disqualified for ROTC, you can still participate in the Citizen-Leader Track.
All new cadets who are contracted or who earn an ROTC scholarship must pass two DoDMERB physicals: the first when they are selected for an ROTC scholarship and the second before they commission. You can find more information about the DoDMERB Qualification process here.
Though not an official source, you can check the Service Academy Forums under the DoDMERB Discussion board for more information about what has been decided for other cadets here.
You should arrive in August in good physical condition, ready to meet the demands of physical training in the summer heat. It will be much easier to learn and enjoy meeting your buds (fellow new cadets) if you are not physically drained. You should be able to run 1.5 miles before you arrive... START NOW!
Tips for getting ready for New Cadet Week
(Note: You should consult with a physician before starting any exercise program.)
Hydrate, especially in the week before you arrive on campus. As a guideline, consider drinking a quart of water a day. Don’t underestimate the effects of the summer heat during New Cadet Week.
Cut back on caffeinated drinks. You will not be allowed soda or coffee during New Cadet Week.
Get used to going to bed by 10 p.m.
Develop a plan to improve your physical fitness with short-term and long-term goals. Remember, you don’t need to be an athlete to complete New Cadet Week; you just need to get in and stay in shape.
Set six-week goals for improving your sit-ups, pushups, and run and practice them daily.
Find a friend to workout with.
Overall, stay positive and stick with it.
You will be on your feet and moving around most of the day during New Cadet Week. Care of your feet is critical to finishing cadet training successfully.
Your first year will be demanding, both mentally and physically. This is a senior military college; come expecting a military environment. Be prepared to learn and to push yourself. However, know you will not be alone - your buds (fellow first-year cadets), cadre (junior and senior cadets assigned to train you), the Corps, and ROTC staffs are here to help you succeed. The sense of accomplishment you will feel after the New Cadet Week Parade, Red Phase, Caldwell March, and your first year will make every moment worth it!
New Cadet Parade
This year's New Cadet Parade will be at 10 a.m. Aug. 22 on the Drillfield.
Your uniform over the weekend is Hokie Bag. After the parade and returning your rifle, you can depart with your family.
If your family is not in town, you can sign out to the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area to take care of personal errands. If you are not staying overnight with your family over the weekend, you must return to your room by 10 p.m. Saturday night.
All new cadets must be back in their residence hall room no later than 1:30 p.m. Sunday, August 23.
Fall Family Visit Opportunities
If your family would prefer to visit you later in the fall semester, there will be a few key weekends.
Family Weekend (Oct. 2-4) first-year cadets will be visiting the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia that Saturday. But, they will be free after they return through 6 p.m. on Sunday. If families would still like to visit that weekend, the university will have events for families to attend on campus. Registration will open August 4 on Hokie Family Hub.
Fall Break (Oct. 9-11), no classes will be held on Friday. Cadets will go on the Caldwell March I on Saturday, Oct. 10. Cadets may request leave or family pass to begin after they return from the march on Saturday until 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Except for Marine Option cadets, Oct. 24-25 is an open weekend. Cadets without obligations can request leave during open weekends.
During Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 16-18) your family is invited to watch the homecoming parade at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, and can attend the football game against Georgia Tech on Saturday, if they purchase tickets. You can request Family Pass for after the football game until 6 p.m. Sunday.
Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring Breaks do not require leave.