WAY OT--Calling all Louisiana residents and LSU graduates

ksmyrl

Sorry for the off the wall post yall but I bet somebody out there can offer some insight. My 18 year old son is on the verge of choosing a college to attend. He's been accepted to several state schools in GA and his outlier is LSU to which he has also been accepted. He seems to be leaning to LSU so he can study either Coastal Environmental Science or Petroleum Engineering. Being that this acceptance was last minute we are planning a trip to Baton Rouge in the next week or so.

I work in Higher Ed so I'm familiar with many of the processes that we will wade through but I know ZERO about LSU or the Baton Rouge area. The boy needs to decide what he wants to study to make his ultimate decision and even then it might change. But any and all comments, advice, look out for's, must do's or must see's as they relate to Baton Rouge and/or LSU are greatly appreciated.

For us Athens/east GA natives I don't know that I'll ever say "Geaux Tigers" but you never know. Thanks yall.

ColbyLang

Tailgate at LSU Football one time, his decision will be made that day. 

Honestly, Baton Rouge is a great city, albeit large. Campus is consolidated thankfully. He won’t be disappointed in his choice if that’s the way y’all lean. Plenty of on campus or off campus housing. Great restaurants and student life as well. 

TechsasJim

I work with a TON of LSU grads and they all seem to be great folks.    

The one and only negative I have ever heard was from my father (an engineer), who worked for a major Oil & Gas company (and I only bring this up due to potential PE degree) is that his company would not hire an LSU grad with only an undergrad.    Albeit this was ~15yrs ago when he last made that statement and I'm sure (hope) things have changed.

Again, every LSU grad I have known or worked with/for has been great.

I can't speak for Baton Rouge itself, I'll leave that for those who know...

fishlessman

If it were me, New England or west coast. Une in Biddeford has marine degrees and Maine is getting killed with climate change. If I were to do things over, that's where I would be, right on the water, coast.

lousubcap

There is the significant tuition game in the total equation-as it is with all college decisions.  One of a very few life cycle issues that I am quite happy to have moved beyond-aka old here!

Wherever you land-as Satchel Paige said, "Don't look back, somethin' might be gainin' on ya." 

Always remember, any college can teach you more than you can learn. 

RRP

this is REALLY off topic…but  my wife’s grandmother graduated from LSU in 1927 or ‘28. Think about what that really means!  A FEMALE going to college much less graduating back then! And no… her parents were from MO and they were not rich people…they just knew that a college education for a woman at that era was a terrific thing they could give her! 

She has been dead for years now, but we have her memorabilia from back then plus a small LSU pin which she cherished! 

nolaegghead

SWMBO is an LSU grad.  I can’t speak for the quality of education in those disciplines but overall it’s a good school.  Like every university, it depends on what you want out of it.  There are plenty of ranking systems for comparing them.  I suspect it may be a good fit for Coastal Environmental Science or Petroleum Engineering since we are literally drowning in water (at times) and thar is oil here.

I hate Baton Rouge, traffic sucks, the locals are….uhhh….let’s just say commensurate with state rankings.  But if you go there for school, who cares?  If you want to focus on school, you don’t want to live somewhere too distracting and Baton Rouge is definitely not a playground like New Orleans.  

Friend of mine’s kid was thrown out of LSU for hazing.  My neighbor the brisket camp lawyer gets plenty of clients from the school.  For any kid going to college, I’d read them the riot act about how fraternities can ruin everything.  I just looked him up and he did some time.  Drinking fatality.  Legal fees were insane.


https://nypost.com/2023/03/13/jury-awards-parents-6-1m-in-lsu-hazing-death-of-max-gruver/

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/multimedia/photos/photos-video-lsu-fraternity-members-arrested-for-alleged-hazing-seen-leaving-baton-rouge-prison/collection_2af63064-30d4-11e9-b9f2-97581ddba816.html

That kind of stuff happens everywhere you have Greek organizations on campus, certainly not unique to LSU.

nolaegghead

1827 or ‘28 you mean?  

HeavyG

RRP said:

this is REALLY off topic…but  my wife’s grandmother graduated from LSU in 1927 or ‘28. Think about what that really means!  A FEMALE going to college much less graduating back then! And no… her parents were from MO and they were not rich people…they just knew that a college education for a woman at that era was a terrific thing they could give her! 

She has been dead for years now, but we have her memorabilia from back then plus a small LSU pin which she cherished! 

The Roaring 20's was a great time for women's progress. Passage of the 19th amendment at the start of the 20's opened a sense of wanting to achieve more than they might have previously had opportunities for. By 1930 I think that nationwide the percentage of colleges degrees awarded were about 60% to men and 40% to women. 
I have no idea what the LSU student body was like back then (other than likely being very white) but looking up todays stats I see that there are more female students at LSU than male (which actually seems to be the norm nationwide these days).

JohnInCarolina

First of all, congrats on your son getting accepted to LSU and those other schools in GA!  Sounds like no matter what he has some great options, and that's an awesome position to be in.  And it's great that he wants to pursue a career in STEM!  

I've only been to LSU once but I thought the campus was really pretty nice.  I know some of the engineering faculty there too and if they're any indication I think you can get a great education there.  College is more about what you put into it than where you go but for some specialized programs like what your son is considering the institution can definitely make a difference.  

ksmyrl

Thanks yall, appreciate the comments. He does have choices as @JohnInCarolina mentioned and I've never been a fan of fraternities as @nolaegghead said. Working on a college campus for most of my career I've seen the bad side of the greek system far too often. I've already told the boy I'm not paying for that. He's a good kid, a decent (3.0 to 3.5 + or-) student, and doesn't take himself too seriously. We shall see where he lands. Other than the fields mentioned he loves the marine industry; boat building, boat selling, marina business. He currently works at a marina/dealer in Georgia's "lake country" and LOVES it. Did an internship at a Yacht dealer in S. Florida in January. I think he'll do fine in life. It's the "get out of it what you put into it" we are trying to convince him of for the next four years.

TechsasJim

@ksmyrl
Ultimately the kids have to go where they feel they will fit in and do well.   My oldest is quite bright, had an option to go to Rice with a mainly-academic scholarship.     She toured and declined based on the fact she didn't think it was a good fit for her.    Ended up at different Uni that offered a similar scholarship and loved/excelled there.

Since you and others are in that space I needn't go on, you get it.     Best of luck to your son, sounds like he has a solid head and pretty much knows what he enjoys and will do well in.

wps456

I'm an LSU alum but did grad school in New Orleans to get the degree. Went to Baton Rouge for football games, it's a blast and the campus is very pretty (lots of huge oak trees). Like most areas there's some parts of town you want to avoid. I was pre-Katrina so Baton Rouge did change a lot after that. Great field to be in for down there. My brother-in-law works for Bolinger Ship Building down the bayou in Lockport, lots of great folks there. Be careful with the oil industry down there cause it has very good highs and very bad lows, lots of cycles. All the best!!

nolaegghead

The marine industry is big here.  Some of the best recreational fishing off-shore (I hate fresh water fishing 🤪). Lots of commercial fishing, aquatic farming, off shore oil service, etc.  The energy sector goes through boom and bust cycles like pretty much anywhere, although the big operations are fairly recession proof as they have long term plans.  

The LSU campus is beautiful and, of course, the LSU football program is fun and competitive, and we win National Championships.  

JohnInCarolina

nolaegghead said:

The LSU campus is beautiful and, of course, the LSU football program is fun and competitive, and we win National Championships.  

Where’s the “we” in that for you?  Do you have a side hustle as an LSU water boy you haven’t told us about?

ColbyLang

JohnInCarolina said:

nolaegghead said:

The LSU campus is beautiful and, of course, the LSU football program is fun and competitive, and we win National Championships.  

Where’s the “we” in that for you?  Do you have a side hustle as an LSU water boy you haven’t told us about?

@JohnInCarolina, we non LSU grads call them guys Paper Tigers lol

nolaegghead

TechsasJim

nolaegghead said:

However he didn’t claim to be raised in Puerto Rico (isn’t that the Spanish translation for Baton Rouge?)

nolaegghead

BR = Red Stick (used to measure Tabasco pepper ripeness)
PR = Rich Port (despite having declared bankruptcy in 2017, largest case ever)
GS = George Santos (guy that came up with the names)