The Atlantic Monthly magazine recently released a list of universities with the most selective admissions criteria, and no Southern schools are on the list.
Despite this, officials say the University’s admission standards are comparable to those of other similar universities.
The top five schools on the list are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, the California Institute of Technology, Yale University and Harvard University.
According to the Atlantic Monthly Web site, the magazine sought to examine admissions across various colleges and universities and their implications for students, parents and colleges.
The rankings were based on admission rates, standardized test scores and high school class rankings.
Most of the schools on the list are concentrated in the Northeast and West coast. None are located in the South.
Several schools on the list take into account several factors in admitting students, including grades, quality of academic programs, standardized test scores and personal accomplishments and characteristics.
The University’s admissions requirements are a 2.8 academic grade point average and a score of 20 on the ACT.
The University will raise those standards to a 3.0 grade point average and a 22 ACT in 2005.
Jason Droddy, coordinator of external affairs for the chancellor’s office, said he thought the University’s admissions requirements were comparable to regional peers.
The University of Alabama requires a 2.5 grade point average and a 20 ACT score for admission, while the University of Arkansas requires a 3.0 grade point average and a 20 ACT score.
Droddy said comparing admission standards can be difficult because different universities use different methods for admissions.
For example, the University of Tennessee weighs students’ grade point averages based on core academic subjects such as English, math, science and history.
In addition, Tennessee combines students’ best ACT scores to reach a “super score” used in admission procedures.
Droddy said though University enrollment continues to grow in spite of increasing admission standards, it is important to keep pace with Louisiana students.
“One must understand that this is not a race to ramp up admission standards,” Droddy said. “Admissions requirements are about students being prepared for college so that they may succeed once they get here.”
Chancellor Mark Emmert said one of the University’s main focal points remains providing education to Louisiana students.
“As we shape our admissions criteria, we must remember that we are both the leaders of higher education for Louisiana and that we serve predominantly Louisiana students,” Emmert said. “We therefore cannot increase standards so fast that LSU becomes inaccessible to Louisiana students.”