Does anyone know if new corps members have to pay for their own uniforms? If so, about what price do they cost? Are there any fees above and beyond non-reg fees for Corps members? Are freshman allowed automobiles, and can they leave campus when they want? How many hours does a typical Corps student take per semester? With the extra military science courses they have to take, do most cadets still graduate in 4? Is there visitation allowed during the summer? Thanks for the help, I am trying to help a friend whos son is considering A&M.

my advice to him is, DONT JOIN THE CORPS!
I would think that people would get tired of being told when to go to bed in college.

Answering based on my experiences in the 70's:

Does anyone know if new corps members have to pay for their own uniforms? NO (you must buy your own senior boots though).

Are there any fees above and beyond non-reg fees for Corps members? Mainly dry cleaning costs. Can't think of any others.

Are freshman allowed automobiles? YES

Can they leave campus when they want? NO, there are restrictions in the evenings and sometimes on weekends.

How many hours does a typical Corps student take per semester? For me, it was the same as non-regs.

With the extra military science courses they have to take, do most cadets still graduate in 4? Probably not, but most non-reg students don't either. I was fortunate to graduate in 4 years.

Is there visitation allowed during the summer? Not sure what you mean here, but there are no Corps related activites once school lets out in May (unless there are ROTC scholarship activities over the summer).

Hope this helps..... I'm sure some of this has changed over the many years since I was there.

Thanks for the help. Anyone know if things have changed much?

First I would advise calling the Corps and talking to them. But I'll answer your questions as best I can.

No freshmen don't pay for their uniforms. They are payed for by the ROTC department they are a part of. If after their Sophmore year they decided not to take a contract then you will have to pay for them for your junior and senior year. I forget how much it is but it isn't much.

Cadets have to purchase a specific meal plan for Duncan but it is no more expensive than any other meal plan for any other student. They also have to pay to live in the Corps dorms, which are cheaper than most dorms on campus.

Freshmen can have cars and are free during the school day to go off campus unless otherwise informed. The school day is from 8am to 4pm. Basically they are free to do what they want during this period of time so they can go to class, study, buy books, go get uniforms dry cleaned, etc.

Usually they will start you out with 12 hours. Minimum for being a full time student. This is good to get your legs under you and learn campus and Corps life. After that schedualing classes in between you and your departments academic advisor. I know cadets who finished in four, but would say most stay at least a semester longer. It isn't so much because of the militray science classes because most students these days take 5 years to finish.

Cadets are free in the summer after final review unless they have accepted a military contract and have to go to training. Even if they do this, which is usually only part of the summer, they will be free for the rest.

Chill out, CU !! That's NOT the question for which he's seeking an answer, and I doubt he's interested in your opinion.

Jeremy, I'd refer your friend to the 1-800- 826-8247 Corps Recruiting Office phoneline, where those questions and more can be answered for him.

If I remember correctly, the ROTC department covers the cost for the 1st two years. Cadets who stay ROTC are covered for jr and sr years and cadets who do not stay ROTC have to pay out of pocket for jr and sr years.

Thanks for the info. Good stuff.

I was in the Corps & Aggie Band for 8 semesters (4 years) and graduated in May of my senior year. Like other students, I took summer classes at a junior college while working so I could graduate on time. I typically took 12-15 hours (actually, I think I only took 12 once, 15 was normal).

Grades were not stellar, but I graduated in four years, paid for all of my own school, and was the first in my family to get a 4 year degree. Quite frankly, the Corps allowed me to do this with the benefits of mandated study time, accountability, and assistance with tutoring and such when needed. The Corps experience has also benefitted me greatly in my professional career.

Would concur on calling Corps center for current information. They may be able to put you in contact with a local person invovlved in the Corps Leadership Outreach, or even a current cadet. This one on one contact will be far superior to any advice here.



[This message has been edited by BQ89AG (edited 7/14/2004 11:11a).]

Corps Recruiting information: 1-800-TAMU-AGS

Also:

http://www.aggiecorps.org/index.htm

At this site, there is good accurate information, as well as direct links to contact people that should be a great resource.

[This message has been edited by BQ89AG (edited 7/14/2004 11:12a).]

Plus there are a good number of scholarships reserved for Corps members--ask about that.

Boots and such will cost around 900, but most put down deposit Freshman year and pay a little at a time--by the time you get them Junior year, there is usually not much left due.

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my advice to him is, DONT JOIN THE CORPS!
I would think that people would get tired of being told when to go to bed in college.

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There are, in fact, some things worth that meager sacrifice.

Fish year can be a financial boof- but it's mostly neglibible things like Corps & Outfit dues...unfortunately no more Bonfire dues (pay for gloves, pot, etc.).

Most students today won't graduate in four years unless they take a semester worth of summer school.

I went D&C and Uni'scost $150 each semester, I think.

Each year you gain more priviledges and by your junior year you can do whatever you want and go out whenever you want.

I also got less and less sleep as I moved from being a fish to a Senior. I just chosed to go out more.

I was in the Corps and highly recommend it.

New corps members do not have to pay for uniforms. They are issued. I think if you go D&C your junior and senior years there is some charge, but it's not very expensive.

Fees above and beyond non-reg fees... not really. You ARE required to be on a full meal plan (unless that's changed), because the entire Corps marches into the mess hall for chow twice a day. You ARE required to get a sports pass (I think football only) because the Corps marches in to football games, and cadets are required to attend.

Fish may have autos. They are not restricted to campus, and may leave when they want. To leave campus in uniform, cadets must be in class B uniform or better. Cadets may leave in civilian clothes. Keep in mind: They will not have a lot of time to leave campus during the week, except for things like going to the cleaners, barber shop, doing laundry, etc. All those services may also be found on campus. There will be some weekends where outfit activities keep them on campus. I recommend getting on the list for a southside or Koldus garage spot if leaving campus is important.

Corps students may take as few as 12 hours, or as many as they want. Fish should start slowly until they get the hang of college and of the Corps.

Bull text will not be a problem. Those classes don't take up much time, particularly in the first couple of years. They meet once or twice a week, plus some sort of lab once a week, and an FTX or two per semester. Labs and FTXs are incorporated into Corps activities. These classes require learning some skills, but very little reading, and the testing, if any, is simple.

Some cadets graduate in 4 years. Most don't. The extra classes don't have anything to do with it. The time commitment of the Corps might have something to do with it. However, most students don't graduate in 4 years anymore, cadet or not.

Folks can visit cadets in the summertime. For that matter, lots of people visit on weekends during the year. During the summer, the corps "dies." Some cadets are on campus, of course, and some cadet activities go on. These usually involve the leadership of the Corps, special units, or recruiting. But most of the day to day "Corps games" cease, the Corps effectively vacates the dorms, the Corps does not form or drill. Cadets do not have to be in uniform unless they are participating in the above-mentioned activities. Many cadets live in other dorms or off campus in the summer.

I hope this adequately answers your questions. Call the Corps and get it straight from the horse's mouth. Things might have changed.

My advice to the young man:
1. Join.
2. If you think it's too tough, hang in there. You can do more than you think you can, and you'll be glad you did.
3. If you hang in there for a while and you still want out, get the hell out. Don't hang around and cry and ruin it for the rest of the Corps.

CT's, on average, have had a higher GPA then the rest of the student body as a whole. One semester, I Q-dropped a class and ended up with 13 hours. Beside that one, I never had less than 16 hours, and once I had 19. I graduated in 4.5 years with an engineering degree, but 8 months of that I was a coop. Everybody I knew who dropped out of the Corps for academic reasons typically had worse grades afterwards. Most of the time, when somebody's grades are in the crapper, they will blame the Corps to their mommies, but in actuality, they probably party too much.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that the Corps has the highest GPA of any student organization.

The excuse of grades was the biggest cop-out for the freshmen who quit. It's the easiest way to explain to family, friends and themselves why the quit. I was Scholastics my time in the Corps and I made contact with many of the ones who quit my outfit during my time. Almost all had the same or worse grades. They just replaced the time that was spent for the corps with video games,tv, getting fat...etc.

I used to get so mad when parents would call our CO and complain about their kids grades while he/she is off playing grab-ass at a non-regs dorm while skipping class, or sleeping, sitting there surfing the web or spending time with their girl. Whatever, grades should not be a problem if that student whants to do well in school Sorry, it is just something that irks me.

The hard thing though, as for any student, is learning time management.

I got the academic boot right before Butt year. Like I said on another thread today, the Corps slightly aggravated the academic problems (zero motivation, focus & laziness) for my whole life. It did not create them.

I don't know...I made better grades when I wasn't in the Corps. I never got crapped out if my grades were not good, but if my shoes weren't shined, or I didn't know my campusology I did.

College is a time to experience new things, to explore yourself, to learn things beyond what your parents can guide your through. Personally, I wouldn't do it again. Everyone has their own path in life, and I'm the person I am today because of the Corps.

My advice to anyone that joins the Corps is this...quit if it's not for you. Don't stick with it because you'd let a buddy down or your outfit down. Those are the reasons I stayed. Pride of not being a quitter kept me in the Corps. But you know what? I realize that a square peg can indeed fit in a round hole, but it hurts like hell.

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Don't stick with it because you'd let a buddy down or your outfit down.

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I have to offer a different perspective on that one. We offered that same advice to a few of our buddies (not the outfit motivation, the buddies one) and they are all thankful we did. To each his or her own, though.

"Spend the Day with the Corps" in the summer... http://aggiecorps.tamu.edu/home/prospective/std

"Spend the Night with the Corps" during the school year...http://aggiecorps.tamu.edu/home/prospective/stn

Peer pressure is a powerful thing. Of all my buddies, 10 years later, I talk to 3 of them. I only regret not speaking to 1 of them. The others were people in my life that if I weren't thrown into an intense situation, I would never have anything in common with them.

Grain of salt, my fish class was a whopping 9 people.

Great advice above. I won't say it all again, since it was well put.. but I'll tell you what I personally got out of being in the Corps. I learned to "Suck it up!!" When things sucked, or the food wasn't the greatest, or I was wet and it was raining, or I have to stand forever, or I learn to push my body past where I would have done it myself, I learned to just not whine about it and suck it up. Now that I've been out of school for 2 years, graduated in 4 years.. maybe a few others in my class were commissioned with me, counted on one hand.... now that I've been out and gone through Flight School and SERE school, I think they went well because I learned how to suck it up! I did miss the typical college life.. but most people get to do that for their victory lap(5th year). You have your summers, weekends, and during academic day (8am to 4pm) to do what you want. Not too shabby. I loved it and recommend it. I took about 15 hrs average, had a 3.1 gpa. I'm glad i was done in 4 though, I was ready to move on and get my career started and start getting paid! Hope that helps.

I loved my victory lap. Being a non-reg was great because four years is enough of the corps.

Join a frat. Same as the Corps without the hassle of a bad haircut and a tired uniform.

"I voted for it before I voted against it."

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Join a frat. Same as the Corps without the hassle of a bad haircut and a tired uniform.

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Numerous arguments against that one, but the most potent and succinct one is that Alpha-Beta-So and So are not the "Keepers of the Spirit."

Please, don't shoot me. Just an opinion.

To answer one question, yes, there are additional "fees." The Corps is a financial screw the first couple of years with all of the extra stuff you have to buy to maintain uniforms and do the stuff that is required of you by your upperclassmen. Additionally, there are outfit dues. The Corps says that dues cannot exceed $30 a year, but very few outfits actually comply with that rule. I've seen some outfits charge up to $100 a semester just so they don't have to do any fundraising. It's a refined form of financial hazing.

The corps doesn't have to be a financial boof. But spending some cash on extra stuff can make it easier.

From what I've seen, the frats are probably a little rougher on kids these days than the corps. The corps is more of a mind game, but they can't mess with kids physically anymore. I'm told that frats have a little more hazing now. And frats will take a lot more money. But that could also just have been a frat kid trying to show off.

Even with outfit dues and various other minor expenses, you will spend less in the Corps than being a non-reg. In the Corps, you're constantly busy. If you were a non-reg, you'd be spending the extra cash partying....

I still spent plenty of money on beer and women..... come to think of it, I still do. It's a never ending cycle!

What stuff were you required to do by your upperclassmen that cost money?

The biggest finacial hit we took was getting together the cash to buy the next years CO a saber. Other than that we weren't hit with anything other than buying our outfit shorts and an extra outfit T so we didn't stink to high heaven on morning runs.

Maybe it has changed but my outfit dues were 25 a year every year. Money went to off set the outfit dinner at the end of the year.

Gameday: donuts/orange juice for whitebelts

Constantly had to buy new t-shirts

Cleaning supplies

Just a few that came to mind.

We didn't get charged much. Maybe $50 a year at most, probably more like 35 or 40. That includes buying enough tobacco products for about 5 trips to cut.

Nothing like the thousands spent joining a soriety or frat. Most A&M organizations charge you anyways to be in them some way or another. I know fish camp boofed me for more than 300 bucks with the $100 councelor charge and all the road trips, food and stuff for our fish.

Buying donuts for upperclassmen would now be considered hazing according to our new commandant and the school. Then the batt would put, FRESHMEN CADETS FORCED TO BUY BEER FOR DRUNK UPPERCLASSMEN WHILE BEING AX HANDLED, as a headline.

T shirts and cleaning supplies? Are you kidding? Hopefully you would have bought clothes and kept your room clean as a non-reg. God forbid you spent $.99 on some windex.

For everytime I bought donuts, my white belts bought me pizza or had me over to their apt for beers when they were out of the corps.