Louisiana Tech University

Tech is a great school. I would say it is a top 10 university in the nation for engineering program. Result of my success goes to Tech.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

Im not sure where to start. First off I came to tech for all the WRONG reasons, so my view of this school is jaded to say the least. Make sure you know exactly what your desired field is BEFORE you get here, if you are not planning on majoring in engineering or related field, reconsider your decision regarding attending this university

While the professors are friendly enough and usually are helpful enough, they are not what I would consider "top notch", in fact I feel that a lot of these professors could not make it in a larger more reputable university.

I often get the feeling that Tech really does not care too much about anyone other than its engineering majors, it seems that all of the renovations/innovations are all geared toward the engineering departments while other departments are in terrible need of improvement. For example, most of my classes are on the South Campus (Reese, Lomax Halls) and I know of one professor that has a trashcan in his office just to collect water that leaks in through the ceiling when it rains, also, in the one of the lab buildings on South Campus the roof in one room is basically on the verge of caving in. If I knew coming into this university what I know now I would definately have gone to another more reputable university.

I feel poorly prepared to go out into the working world, while some of that can be accredited to me, I also feel that my professors have done a poor job at challenging me and providing me with useful information. Most of the information that I have recieved in my current field of study here at Tech has been outdated and some of the professors here still use overhead projectors, eventhough there are projectors with computers in all the classrooms here, to me that right there shows you something about the academic integrity of the professors and the university. While no decision about attending a university should be based on the surrounding town, it is a factor that cant be ignored. While Ruston is a great town with great people, there is not much to do, just last year we got our FIRST movie theatre, there is very little night life here also.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2008

Faculty Accessibility: A, Education Quality: F

First: LIKE WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL! No matter how good the academic coursework, if the school does not help you grow as a person, allow you to find yourself, allow you the freedom of wide open thought, or allow the opportunities to meet many different kinds of people with many different ways of thinking, then you probably should go somewhere else. This means you should to the best of your ability decide just what kind of person you really are BEFORE you attend a college or university. Otherwise you will be either(a) unhappy there, or (b) not grow to your own potential as a person. In fact, I will go as far as to say that you should postpone entry into college for AT MINIMUM one year. That way, you will have time to explore different campuses over that time period, thereby decreasing the chance of your being at a college or university that you will either be unhappy at or one that fails to let you grow to your personal potential.(Personally, I'd reccommend visiting one a month at minimum. But that's just my opinion). Had I known from the start what I knew now, I would have bypassed Louisiana Tech from the start.

That's not to say Tech is all bad. It's got a solid, if not elite, reputation academically (the engineering programs have a QUITE good reputation!). The people are nice, although pretty cliquish. If you're not a super party animan type, then you might give this school a chance (The party scene is definitely staid compared to the typical Southeastern Conference schools). The Greek system is well-developed, but doesn't overwhelm the student culture to the extent you see, at, for example, Ole Miss. The town of Ruston is charming, family oriented, and has a pretty good relationship with the university and its students.

So, just why was Tech so wrong for you then? Mainly because I'm by nature a highly inquisitive, cosmopolitan person who craves intellectual stimulation. Probably the biggest negative about Tech is that it's geographically isolated, which makes it culturally isolated. Aside from racial diversity, there is not a whole lot of variety in personality and appearance among the students here. Furthermore, the student body is made up OVERWHELMINGLY of native Louisianians and natives of the parts of neighboring states close to the Louisiana line (E. Texas, S. Arkansas, S & W Mississippi). If your idea of a great college experience necessarily includes even only a moderately cosmopolitan experience, then Tech probably is not for you. In addition, this is a small town in a relatively poor region with quite high unemployment and underemployment (though Ruston itself is a monument to prosperity by comparison!) So if for some reason you either want or need to work your way through school, Louisiana Tech is definitely not the place for you. The county/parish has only 40,000 people but 10,000 college students, so there is definitely NOT enough jobs for every student who wants one. If it's a job you need, find a university in a big city.

Overall, Tech is not a particularly horrid place, depending on the type of person you are. In fact, academically and socially, it probably was the best school in the state for me (LSU's party school/sports fan school atmosphere really turned me off from there). Unfortunately, it did not offer me the essentials that, in hindsight, I realize were vital to me.So why did you stay there al that time? The answer is two-fold: (a) I didn't want to spend money on out of state tuition (itself a bad move in hindsight) and (b) I never realized how starkly different people from the N. La. area were from even other areas in the South. It wasn't until I went to grad school in Memphis that I realized the sharp differences in cosmopolitanality between the urban and rural south (I though New Orleans was only a unique exception).

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000