Louisiana State University College Portrait

Test(s) Required for Admission: SAT or ACT recommended

50% of admitted students have test scores within the ranges listed, 25% have scores above, and 25% have scores below.

Typical Undergraduate Costs for 2009-10 without Financial Aid (Full-Time, In-State Students)

Total Typical Cost of Attendance: $19,414

Out-of-State & Other Costs

The cost to attend Louisiana State University varies based on the individual circumstances of students and may be reduced through grants and scholarships.

How much would I pay?

Financial Aid: How much help is there to pay?

Scholarships & Grants

• 31% of 2009-10 full-time undergraduates received need-based grants or scholarships; the average award for the year was $8,378. Scholarships and grants are financial aid that does not need to be repaid and is sometimes referred to as gift aid.

Annual Need-Based Loans

• 25% of 2009-10 full-time undergraduates received need-based work-study and/or loans (not including parent loans); the average loan for the year was $4,524. Loans need to be repaid. Typically, repayment starts once you are no longer enrolled full-time. Please refer to page 12 of the Funding Education Beyond High School guide on the US Department of Education's Federal Student Aid website for more information about Financial Need.

Percent of 2009-2010 Full-time Beginning Students Receiving Each Type of Financial Aid

NOTE: Students may receive aid from more than one source.

59% of new freshmen live in campus-based housing or residence halls.
24% of all undergraduates live on campus

The safety and well being of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors is a paramount priority. We are committed to building collaborative partnerships for the betterment of our entire community. The Louisiana State University Police Department is operational 24-hours-a-day, 365 days of the year. Police Officers are always on duty to respond to calls for service, and LSU has an extensive Emergency Preparedness Plan in place that includes procedures to ensure a rapid response to any crisis situation and a fully trained, on-campus Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Campus Crime Statistics

More Information

The Carnegie Classification's were created "to reference the great diversity of colleges and universities in the United States, and ... enable [people] to identify groups of roughly comparable institutions." For information on the Carnegie Classifications system, please visit their website: http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/

Basic Type

Research Universities (very high research activity)

Size and Setting

Large four-year, primarily residential

Enrollment Profile

High undergraduate

Undergraduate Profile

Full-time four-year, more selective, lower transfer-in

Undergraduate Instructional Program

Balanced arts & sciences/professions, high graduate coexistence

Graduate Instructional Program

Comprehensive doctoral with medical/veterinary

NOTE: Institutional classifications based on the Carnegie 2005 edition.

Students who are actively involved in their own learning and development are more likely to be successful in college. Colleges and universities offer students a wide variety of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom to become engaged with new ideas, people, and experiences. Institutions measure the effectiveness of these opportunities in a variety of ways to better understand what types of activities and programs students find the most helpful.

Institutions participating in the VSA program measure student involvement on campus using one of four national surveys. Results from the one survey are reported for a common set of questions selected as part of VSA. Following are the selected results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The questions have been grouped together in categories that are known to contribute to student learning and development. The results reported below are based on the responses of seniors who participated in the survey.

Group Learning Experiences

• 95% percent of seniors worked with classmates on assignments outside of class.
• 58% of seniors tutored or taught other students
• 25% of seniors spent at least 6 hours per week participating in co-curricular activities such as student organizations and intramural sports

Active Learning Experiences

• 78% of seniors spent at least 6 hours per week preparing for class
• 20% of seniors worked on a research project with a faculty member
• 61% of seniors participated in an internship, practicum, or field experience
• 60% of seniors participated in community service or volunteer work
• 12% of seniors participated in study abroad
• 96% of seniors made at least one class presentation last year

Institutional Commitment to Student Learning and Success

• 92% of seniors believe this institution provides support for student success
• 68% of seniors rated the quality of academic advising at this institution as good or excellent
• 52% of seniors reported that this institution provided help in coping with work, family and other non-academic responsibilities
• 90% of seniors reported working harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor's standards or expectations

Student Interaction with Campus Faculty and Staff

• 47% of seniors believed that the campus staff were helpful, considerate, or flexible
• 73% of seniors believed that faculty are available, helpful, or sympathetic
• 93% of seniors reported that faculty members provided prompt feedback on their academic performance
• 67% of seniors discussed readings or ideas with faculty members outside of class

Experiences with Diverse Groups of People and Ideas

• 59% of seniors reported that they often tried to understand someone else's point of view
• 80% of seniors reported their experience at this institution contributed to their understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds
• 52% of seniors often had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity

Student Satisfaction

• 86% of seniors would attend this institution if they started over again
• 84% of seniors rated their entire educational experience as good or excellent
• 85% of seniors reported that other students were friendly or supportive

Evaluation of Experiences

Survey Administration Process

Survey Information

Survey Administration Process

A 88% four-year success and progress rate means that 88% of students starting in Fall 2004 either graduated or are still enrolled at a higher education institution four years later.

Counts for the Fall 2004 entering class shown in the graph above.

• 5,696 First-Time, Full-Time Students
• 747 Full-Time Transfer Students

Success & Progress Rate Table

First-time students in Fall 2009 that returned for their second year: 84%

All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.

Louisiana State University's commitment to student learning is reinforced by the use of a variety of assessment strategies, including the National Survey of Student Engagement, the Collegiate Learning Assessment, the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory, and numerous locally developed assessment methodologies. In recent years assessment practitioners have conducted focus groups for institutional programs such as residential colleges, service learning, Communication across the Curriculum, University Writing, and for such academic departments as English, Accounting, Interior Design, and Plant and Soil Systems. The basic repository of campus assessment is the LSU Academic Programs Assessment Matrix. Members of the faculty comprise the University Assessment Council, which is responsible for student needs and learning outcomes assessment at the University.

Learning Assessment Examples

Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.

- Results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication using a performance task and an analytic writing task. The scores from the tasks are reported separately below.

Test Administration Process

Test Information

Performance Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the performance task is below what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1145
Senior Score: 1205
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average ACT scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 26
Senior Score: 27

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1181
Senior Score: 1213

Analytic Writing Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the analytic writing task is well above what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1022
Senior Score: 1269
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average ACT scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 26
Senior Score: 27

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1181
Senior Score: 1213