LSU starts school year with record number of freshmen

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LSU's first full day of the fall semester saw a record number of freshmen on campus this year.   

There are 6,200 students which is up from the record last year of 5,800 with an average GPA of nearly 3.7, according to LSU President F. King Alexander.  

“It’s a very highly achieving class," Alexander said.  "It’s an out-of-state record, in terms of students coming to us and it is an in-state record.”   

And the school has room to grow, with new facilities and residence halls.  Those students who are residing on campus has also grown to record levels, at around 7,800.  That's up from 6,700.  Alexander credits that to better outcomes.     

“Most studies that you’ll see, students who reside on campus are much more likely to retain better and stay and pursue their collegiate experience, while also graduating more,” said Alexander.

Alexander adds the numbers are a testament to the effectiveness of the holistic admissions approach LSU has taken.

“For those that think that we’re just enrolling students that aren’t qualified, we’ve never had a more successful academic class than the one that just entered,” said Alexander.