Originally posted by LSU
No.
Just in the SEC, which isn't the greatest collection of public universities, LSU is average. Florida, UGA, and UK are much more highly regarded. As much as LSU works at it, I don't think we will compete any time soon with schools like UCLA, UVA, Berkley, UM, UNC, UT, Wisconsin, etc (BTW, I've never heard Michigan State or Rutgers being mentioned as top state universities). Louisiana does not have the funds to make LSU "competitive" with these other state schools.
I've quickly come to learn, however, that reputations, and even schooling in general, have little to do with education. The most important thing a university can provide for its students in my opinion is a motivation to learn. In this regard, I think most schools, from Harvard and Princeton down to ULM and ULL are not separated by as large a chasm as our reputation-driven opinions would have us believe. A college education, for that matter, is really not as important as most people think either. As Matt Damon, who will appear on this Friday's Conan (look for me, as I was seated in the front row behind the band, wearing a purple shirt) said, "You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late charges at the public library."
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