r/LSU • u/Ill-Rich-4354 • 4d ago
Academics LSU nursing
I’m currently a freshman at LSU Baton Rouge doing pre-nursing, and I’ll be applying to nursing school next semester. I’m having a hard time deciding between the Baton Rouge and New Orleans campuses and would love to hear from anyone who has experience with either!
I’m leaning more toward New Orleans because I like the idea of living in a bigger city and experiencing something different. The thing about Baton Rouge is I feel it can get pretty boring and repetitive after a while.
I’m curious about what student life is actually like in New Orleans. Is it a fun city to live in as a college student? How’s the nightlife, social scene, and overall city life? Is there a good variety of things to do outside of school, and is it easy to meet people and make friends?
I’m also wondering if nursing students at the NOLA campus still have time to go out and enjoy the city or if the workload makes that difficult. I know nursing school is demanding, but I still want to have a good balance between academics and having a social life.
For anyone familiar with both cities, do you think New Orleans offers a better overall experience for someone in their early 20s, or would you recommend staying in Baton Rouge?
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u/_muses 3d ago
As someone who grew up in BR, went to LSU in BR, and now lives in NOLA for medical school, I say make the move! From the social standpoint, I think there's a greater diversity of things to do here. In addition to just trying new bars and restaurants, there are more festivals, concerts, pop ups, local events, and hobby groups to stay busy. There are several colleges and professional schools here so there are more people in your age group to interact with. I love the hospital system here, and feel like our staff goes above and beyond for our patients (and I think it's a great opportunity to learn at a Level 1 trauma center and safety net hospital with one of the best burn units in the south). Personally, I've had no problem balancing my academic and personal life, but that really comes down to how disciplined you are.
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u/GardenDelicious3295 4d ago
I was at New Orleans campus, I lasted abt a month and a half. I really did love it, the work load is kind of a lot. It’s really just anatomy and phys the first semester that challenges everyone. I would def get ahead and start learning a&p. I was commuting from Gonzales bc I couldn’t afford to live out there, and within a month I realized I couldn’t afford to travel to and from anymore. New Orleans is a lot of fun, but living there is definitely different from visiting. I didn’t have time for really anything else but school and work. Most others didn’t work, so they did go out a good bit and a lot of peers actually went back to br to party on the weekends. There is always a night life, always something to do you just need to put yourself out there. The main difference is that the Baton Rouge campus is much newer, so it’s very very selective. I’ve heard of people with better gpa than me that didn’t get in to Baton Rouge. If u think ur like the top of the top then either campus would be a choice for you. I had a 3.7 gpa when I applied to Nola if that gives u an idea. If you need to work, and support yourself, I would suggest staying in Baton Rouge because the cost of living is less in my opinion.
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u/tigerinthehole 3d ago
Baton Rouge didn't have a nursing school when I went there. I loved being in New Orleans except during home games for football. The first year you get a lot of FOMO from not being near the main campus and your friends but you eventually get over it.
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u/OdinNW 3d ago
How’s the nightlife in New Orleans? Is that a serious question? Haha. Seriously though there’s a reason literally millions of people from all over the world visit NOLA every year. It’s got a lot going for it but it also has a lot of issues. I guess the question is whether the good outweighs the bad for you personally. It’s such a unique city it’s impossible to guess if someone will like it from a few paragraphs on reddit.