Cadets live together in residence halls, attend morning formation, wear a distinctive uniform, and receive an intensive military and leadership educational experience similar to those at the United States service academies.

All cadets have the opportunity to receive an academic minor in Leadership through the Rice Center for Leader Development which is in the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business.

The Rice Center Board of Advisors, made up from executives from organizations such as Northrop Grumman, Union Pacific, Dell, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, advise the Corps staff on curriculum and skill sets cadets need to develop to be more employable after graduation.

LT John R. Castleman (class of 1919) was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) for heroism in completing an aerial reconnaissance in spite of the attack of 12 enemy aircraft, two of which he shot down.

Known as "The Rock", it is a stone memorial with a bronze plaque and was placed between Brodie and Rasche Hall next to the flagpole on the Upper Quad.

Once again VPI was largely an active duty military installation.Edward H. "Buddy" Dance, of Roanoke, was the President of the Corps of Cadets in the graduating class of 1942.

During the war, First Lieutenant Richard Thomas Shea Jr. (Class of 1949) received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions at Pork Chop Hill as a company commander.

In a move to expand educational opportunities at Virginia Tech, the board of visitors made participation in the Corps completely voluntary starting in 1964.

Early in his tenure as Commandant, Major General Randal D. Fullhart led a sweeping initiative to upgrade and consolidate Corps infrastructure on the Upper Quad precinct of campus.

In connection with these upgrades, Rasche, Brodie, Monteith, Femoyer, and Thomas Halls were demolished to create space for the new buildings.

Today the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is one of six senior military colleges outside the five United States service academies.

[6] The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is a cadet-run organization, consisting of over 1,200 members (as of fall 2021), and is modeled on an Army infantry regiment structure.

This updated lineage carries on to this day, even as units were “reactivated” beginning with India in the reconstituted 3rd Battalion, which was fully restored with the activation of Mike company in 2021.

Weekend leisure time afforded to cadets is heavily dependent on one's ROTC track, the football season schedule, and pre-planned regimental activities such as pass in review.

Due to enrollment growth, recent classes of cadets have also lived in other parts of campus while new residence halls are being constructed.

Most notably, these cadets are expected to both “drag” (briskly march on the right side of all halls and walkways) and sound off to all upperclassmen on the Upper Quad until they officially turn.

However, beginning with the freshman class of 2026, New Cadets will be attending university and college information and academic sessions to prepare them for the start of the semester as part of Virginia Tech's “Weeks of Welcome” programming.

The cadet training system at Virginia Tech has evolved throughout the decades, with each iteration seeking to improve the quality of leader produced by the program.

The new cadets officially begin Red Phase upon returning from pass at 1830 (6:30 pm) for their first study hours Sunday evening.

A freshman cadet typically has eight-and-a-half hours of unstructured time during a weekday in which to attend classes, study, run errands, and workout.

Onlines are conducted Monday through Friday and last for one-half hour, However, as of the fall 2020 semester, freshmen training on weekdays has ceased with the exception of ROTC instruction.

During the Thursday afternoon period reserved normally for the Corps of Cadets lab, freshmen are educated in leadership responsibilities and role play scenarios to learn solutions to different situations.

During this period, the freshman cadets will be partially integrated into their future companies, providing them with valuable acclimation time in order to prepare themselves for their sophomore challenges.

Some of these organizations include: Cadets at Virginia Tech are required to wear the prescribed Uniform of the Day (UOD) from 0700 to 1700 Monday through Thursday and 0700–1400 on Friday.

Proper uniform wear and maintenance is a fundamental part of maintaining the military discipline essential to the Corps of Cadets.

The ability to change out of uniforms at the end of the duty day and in particular portions of the Upper Quad is considered a privilege and likewise must be earned by a class.

In the Dress A uniform, seniors may adorn red sashes (known as OD and OG wraps), sabres, and capes depending on the occasion.

On the collar of both dress uniforms, an underclassmen typically has two circular devices known as "headlights" which designate a particular cadet's ROTC track.

In the fall of 2019, upperclassmen of Bravo Company organized a traditional sophomore integration, in which cadets engaged in physical exercise and were asked if they wished to partake in blood pinning.

[28] In 2020, cadet Darrien Brown was suspended for his role in the incident and subsequently filed suit over a lack of due process.