Tuition and Fees

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Summer Session I & II have been moved to a distance learning environment (on-line).  Cadets will not report to Post. Room and Board, Meal Plans, Auxiliary Fee, Barracks Security Deposit, and Parking Permit Fees will not apply.

NOTICE:  Tuition and fees are based upon appropriations by the General Assembly. These appropriations are subject to state revenue collections and may be reduced or increased by the Governor. The VMI Board of Visitors approves tuition and fees at their May meeting applicable to the following summer and regular sessions, but reserves the right to adjust tuition and fees at any time during the year. Students shall be dismissed from the Summer Session (and, in the case of cadets, from the Institute) for failure to pay tuition and fees or any other financial obligation to the Institute as required. In addition, the Institute reserves the right to hold grades, credits, transcripts, and diplomas until all financial obligations to the Institute have been satisfied.

All fees for the first summer session must be paid by 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 14th. All fees for the second summer session must be paid by 3 p.m. on Friday, June 19th.

VMI will not bill parents or students. Cadet Accounting accepts payment for Summer Session tuition and fees by cash, check, Echeck, or credit card (MasterCard, VISA, Discover, and American Express only). If a credit card is used a 2.6% convenience fee will be assessed. You are not registered until all fees are paid. After the payment/registration deadline students with unpaid fees will be dropped from class rolls. Registration after this deadline will require a visit to the Registrar’s Office and a late fee will be assessed.

Summer Session Fees

NOTE:  The 2020 tuition and fees listed below are subject to final approval by the VMI Board of Visitors at their May meeting.

Summer Transition Program - CANCELED FOR 2020

*Offered only if 25 or more students enroll in the 19 meals per week plan.

** The auxiliary fee covers medical services and use of athletic facilities.  All students attending VMI summer session will be assessed an auxiliary fee.

***The barracks security deposit shall be refunded without interest, less any amount for fines or damages, at the end of the session to all non-VMI cadets. VMI cadet deposits from the regular session will apply to the summer session and are refundable upon graduation or termination of the cadetship.

Fees for study abroad programs are listed in the “Study Abroad” section of this catalog.      

In accordance with the Senior Citizens Higher Education Act of 1974, qualifying senior citizens are not required to pay tuition.

Refund Policy

Tuition is refundable in part only upon official notice of withdrawal to the Director of the VMI Summer Session. Tuition will be refunded in full prior to the end of the drop/add period. After the drop/add period, but prior to the 7th day of classes, 25% of tuition will be refunded. Tuition will not be refunded on or after May 29th for Summer Session I. Charges for meals will be refunded on a pro rata basis. Parking fees are refundable only if registration is cancelled prior to the beginning of classes. The refund policy for study abroad programs can be found in the “Summer Study Abroad” section of this catalog. Exceptions to the refund policy are made only in extraordinary circumstances. Appeals may be made to the Tuition Appeals Committee upon written request to the VMI Comptroller, no later than 60 days after withdrawal from the course or Summer Session.

Room and Board

Students have the option of living in barracks or in Lexington and the surrounding area during the Summer Session. Because of summer maintenance and repairs, a room in barracks is not guaranteed. All available rooms will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Students should be aware that maintenance and repairs might lead to disruptions in barracks life.  High school students that are registered for summer session courses/programs are not permitted to reside in barracks.

Visitors are not allowed in barracks (exceptions may be made by the Commandant’s Office or the Director of the Summer Session). Students living in barracks are required to keep their rooms clean and in good order. Rooms are subject to inspection at any time by Institute officials and will be inspected at the end of each term to see that they are clean and in good order.

Students living in barracks during the Summer Session must pay a security deposit of $100.00 or, in the case of cadets, have that amount in their accounts. The security deposit is due prior to occupancy in barracks. After a VMI official has inspected the room at the end of the term, the security deposit will be refunded without interest, less any sum required for repairs, cleaning, and fines. PLEASE NOTE: leaving at the end of a term without cleaning the room and without properly checking out of barracks will result in forfeiture of all or part of the security deposit for all occupants of the room.

The barracks are used to house other programs during the summer. Participants in those programs will be assigned to live in designated sections of barracks. The areas designated for these programs are off limits to all students who are not participants.

Students living in barracks must purchase a meal plan. Students not living in barracks may eat in the Mess Hall by purchasing a meal plan. Three plans are available for Summer Session students: 5 meals (lunch, Mon.-Fri.), 10 meals (lunch and dinner, Mon.-Fri.) and 15 meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Mon.-Fri.). The 15-meal plan will be canceled if fewer than 25 students enroll. All meals are served cafeteria style in the Mess Hall according to the following schedule:

Breakfast: 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.
Lunch : 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Only students who have purchased a meal plan will be allowed to eat in the mess hall. Note that the 5 and 10 meal plans are restrictive. The 5 meal plan is lunch only and the 10 meal plan is lunch and dinner only. In other words, you cannot purchase the 5 meal plan and eat breakfast one day instead of a lunch. There are no provisions for purchasing individual meals.