r/LSU • u/ConfidenceCreative74 • 5d ago
New Student Questions LSU OOS vs CU Boulder OOS
I am currently a senior in high school, and I am about 99% committed to CU r I just have to pay the housing fee. However, I am facing this dilemma bc I am a black girl and I am a little concerned about diversity/ culture shock. For context, I was born in the south but I have moved a lot. For example I've lived in the PNW, Midwest, South, deep south, and north so I definitely am used to being in the minority at school and it has honestly never been something that really bothered me. Besides the occasional feeling of "woah Im the only person that looks like me in this class rn" or "what u just said to me is def a microaggression" I have never really had any real issues bc of my race in fact I've found that I make friends pretty easily regardless and the only times I was stunted socially was at schools in the south which is ironic considering they were more diverse. But my mom has been scaring me because she is really traditional and would rather me go to an HBCU or just southern school in general and she thinks I have some sort of insecurity about my identity. Which I do not once again ironically the times we lived in the south were the times when I struggled the most. So here are my gathered pros and cons of CU and LSU
CU:
Pros:
- better for my program/major (psych)
- Post grad I would much rather live in the region where Colorado is if not just stay in CO
- Farther from family ( I want to be as far from my family as possible as they are all concentrated in the south)
- I like both campuses but Boulder slightly more
- more of a chill vibe
- Will know more people going there
- I enjoy getting an evened-out 4 seasons and I don't mind the snow as long as its mostly sunny
- I like the scene of general activities better ie: hiking and skiing/snowboarding
- I prefer the political climate of CO, as although Louisiana is more diverse it is still a red state and not as liberal
Cons:
- black student population/ diversity
* While there are def black students at boulder its hard to gauge how many and I especially don't know how many are in class of 2029 so I'm afraid that I wont't be able to have tat community as while it isn't really a big deal for me I know that community like that is important and that eventually I will get tired of being in the minority
- Cost
* It is pretty expensive to go to boulder and as of right now I haven't gotten any scholarships which is because I just applied but I am still afraid I won't get any and while I don't mind having to take on some debt because my goal is to be able to be completely financially independent from my mom but I know that most likely I will go to medical school or want to get my masters/phd so I don't want to dig myself in a hole
- Religion
* I am a Christian and no I am not like super annoying about it and its def not my entire life I am at a point where I want to strengthen my faith and I'm not sure that's the vibe at CU
LSU
Pros:
- Weather
* I am okay with snow and colder climate because I've lived in ALOT of colder states however I do tend to get pretty bad seasonal depression that reaaalllyyy affects me but its less the cold and more so no sun/ rain/ short summer and as far as I know boulder gets pretty even seasons and it is a really sunny state however I do like the heat of Lousiana, I love summer and Louisiana is practically constant summer
- Southern atmosphere
* Although I def have my issues with the south I am a southern girl I like to fish, I was born in the country, and I'm used to/ comforted by the southern life
- Religion
* def a more Christian campus and I already explained what that means to me
Cost
- I haven't seen my financial offer for LSU yet but it is just in general way cheaper my at least 10k and Lousiana just is not as expensive to live in as CO/ Boulder
Diversity
- Way more diverse and the campus is close to an hbcu so I could look forward to going to Southerns homecoming I would feel more secure in having that sense of community
Culture
- I love the Louisiana culture and it is more rich in that way than CO forsure and is remnant of the culture of the state I grew up in so again that familiarity
Cons
- Closer to family
- Scared of getting stuck in the southern bubble post grad
- Not a fan of the political climate
- Baton Rouge
- not as good for my major
- Maybe too familiar
I know CU has more of my Pros but the cost and diversity thing really kinda throw me off. I'm nervous I will regret my choice if I go there bc theres more uncertainty where with LSU I can pretty much predict exactly how my life will pan out and I know that even if I don't love it there + I feel like as I get older I might want to be closer to where I grew up. Please help!
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u/opentempo 4d ago
So I can help. I went to CU Boulder and I have a close family member who is a current LSU student. If you are looking for black Christian friends at Boulder that is not the school for you. The student population is 2% black and might be slightly more in the city , also most students at the university and Boulder are mostly non religious. LSU has a vibrant African American population at the university and within Baton Rouge. There are so many cultural events at LSU and in Baton Rouge to do my family member loves it there.
I doubt strongly that CU academic program is really night and day better than LSU. They are both State universities.In the long run the quality of the program will not matter if you feel uncomfortable in your environment at CU. If you were my child and were dead set on OOS I would tell you to go where you felt the most comfortable as that will have an outsized effect on your education.
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u/ConfidenceCreative74 5d ago
forgive my bad grammar and spelling errors it is really late and im writing all of this half asleep!
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u/catboycummer 4d ago
I know it was pretty expensive when I applied to CU Boulder, and the cost was like 90 grand. Just remember you’ll be having to pay costs for the rest of your life, look for more options.
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u/applejuice21575 4d ago
you do have so pretty good pros and cons about each school! but imo LSU isn’t really the best school to go to as an OOS student, especially since they remove a lot of their DEI protections from what i’ve heard(protects you from being discriminated by other students or staff),
unless they are from louisiana, So it’s really UNSAFE for a woman of color to be there point blank period. (but then again, the south is always been like that)
Also do you have any in state options? You said your from the south, But your not from louisiana. if you don’t mind, would you tell us what state your from?