LSU Acceptance Rate and Admission Requirements in 2023-24

Louisiana State University is a public institution of higher education in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Commonly referred to as LSU, it is one of the oldest universities in the country. It offers more than 300 programs and courses for students at both Undergraduate and Graduate levels.

Students who want to receive an LSU Admission offer must be aware of various admission criteria like the acceptance rate, the GPA requirements, the ACT Requirements, and other necessary details for the LSU admission requirements.

This article is a complete guide that provides all the necessary information, including the SAT requirements, LSU admission requirements, and the average GPA, to start preparing for your desired course and college accordingly and enhance your LSU acceptance rate.

Brief Overview of Louisiana State University

LSU was founded in 1860 in Pineville, Louisiana, making it one of the country’s oldest public higher education institutions. The university offers more than 330 programs across multiple disciplines.

It is particularly known for its courses in Biological Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mass Communication, Mathematics, Physics, English, French Studies, and Mass Communication. It has a semester-based academic system that is followed across the year.

The campus is spread over more than 1000 acres, and it is located in the southern part of Baton Rouge near the Mississippi River. It has a student population of more than 35000, which accounts for up to 20% of the population of Baton Rouge City.

The University has the Following Colleges Under It: 

• College of Agriculture
• College of Art and Design
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Science
• E.J. Ourso College of Business
• College of Music and Dramatic Arts
• College of Human Sciences and Education
• College of Engineering
• Paul M. Herbert Law Center
• University College
• Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College
• Graduate School
• Manship School of Mass Communication
• School of Veterinary Medicine
• College of the Coast and Environment
• School of Social Work
• Continuing Education

LSU Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate is 74.2%. This means for every 100 students that apply for LSU Admissions, 74 are admitted. This puts LSU acceptance rate under the lightly selective category. As per the LSU admissions official website, the Fall semester of 2021 saw the highest number of enrollment ever, with the university getting 35,914 students enrolled across various programs.

LSU Admission Requirements

GPA Requirements and Academic Record: It looks for a consistent academic record. A good academic record reflects that you are committed and determined as an individual. It also shows that you can handle the academic challenges that the college curriculum might throw at you.

Your academic record will need to be submitted from all the high schools you have attended. You can either self-report your academic record or have your High School counselor send the Transcript.

Test Scores: The official policy of LSU for the year 2022 is to be Test Optional. This means that the candidate will have the option of not including their SAT/ACT score in their LSU Admissions application. LSU believes in a comprehensive and overall review of your application, which has made SAT/ACT scores optional.

Those who chose not to submit SAT/ACT scores will be assessed based on other parameters like academic performance, curriculum rigor in high school, grade consistency, grades in courses related to preferred courses, letters of recommendation, essays, and co-curricular activities & awards.

Letter of Recommendation: LSU admissions ask for at least one Letter of Recommendation from an academic source (teacher, counselor, administrator, etc.) This will strengthen their application and be a deciding factor for scholarships and subject-related awards.

LSU GPA Requirements

LSU looks for students with consistent academic records. Since they have made Test scores optional, they emphasize academic records. According to the official website, high school academic performance is the most important factor taken into consideration while assessing a candidate.

Therefore, this review incorporates evaluating high school courses, focusing on core courses, grade patterns over the long run, grades in particular disciplines lined up with a planned major, and grade point average.

The LSU average GPA for the fall batch of 2021, as per the official website, is 3.54. This means that LSU expects you to be around the average of your high school class in terms of academic performance. If you have a lower GPA, you can think of applying for more difficult courses in high school and scoring well in them.

This will take up your weighted GPA. While the GPA is moderately competitive, if your GPA is lower than 3.54, you might have to aim for a higher score on SAT/ACT.

LSU ACT Requirements

As per the official admissions website, the average LSU ACT score of the incoming 2021 Fall batch was 26. This puts it in the category of moderately competitive. The 25th score percentile for ACT is 23, and the 75th score percentile for ACT is 29.

Even though the website does not mention minimum LSU ACT scores or a cutoff, an ACT score of 23 will make it difficult to consider your application. In that case, you will have to have something impressive in your academic and extracurricular record to compensate.

LSU SAT Requirements

The school has an average SAT score of 1180 out of a total of 1600. This puts LSU under the competitive category in terms of required SAT scores.

The 25th percentile score in the New SAT is 1070, and the 75th percentile score in the New SAT is 1290. This means scoring 1070 on SAT will put you below average compared to other applicants while scoring 1290 and above will place you higher than the average.

Steps to improve your LSU Admission Chances

Now that you know the various parameters that the University uses to assess your application, you can work on the following to improve your LSU admission chances:

Meet the University’s average GPA requirements: The GPA score on your application is a reflection of your academic consistency and performance. It talks about your dedication and commitment to academics and can save your application from getting rejected. Many great colleges are looking for students that show such academic rigor.

It proves that they would be able to keep up with the academic challenges they will face during their time at college. Therefore High School students should work with a focus on improving and maximizing their GPA as it acts as a gateway to a good college. While it is not the only factor, a good GPA strengthens your application.

A host of competitive schools also look for the course difficulty in a candidate’s application. Therefore, you must also look at taking on the challenging courses available at your High School.

Aim for LSU ACT Requirements: Having a high SAT/ACT score is always a plus for your application. While many college websites don’t mention the SAT/ACT score cutoff, you should aim for getting an LSU ACT Score or SAT score that places you in the top 50 percentile of applicants. This means starting timely preparations and also seeking tutoring if necessary.

Letter of Recommendation: LSU Admission team takes a Letter of Recommendation very seriously and requires at least one Letter of Recommendation from an academic authority. To improve your chances of getting to LSU, you should get more than 1 Letter of Recommendation.

Therefore it makes sense to take on additional responsibilities both inside and outside of the classroom that allows you to get a Letter of Recommendation from multiple academic authorities.

Life at LSU

LSU boasts a very vibrant and diverse community of students that come from all across the world. In addition, LSU has more than 100 student organizations for both across various interests and disciplines for you to choose from. 

LSU also makes mental and physical health a priority. The campus also boasts great physical and mental health facilities. Staffed with certified health, medical professionals, and counselors, the university prioritizes health, well-being, and safety.

LSU also has a dedicated Sports Page on its website, which talks volumes about how prevalent the sports culture is in the university. The University offers a host of opportunities outside of academics as well for those interested in Sports, Athletics, etc.

All of this makes LPU a sought-after school. This makes getting into it even more difficult. But you can get your seat in their preferred course by ramping up your preparations, working towards a better GPA, securing a good SAT / ACT score, and writing a persuasive essay.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Louisiana State University offering any kind of financial aid to international students?

2. Is the PTE exam accepted by Louisiana State University for graduate admission?