re: Note to Out of State Alums

quote:

---

If I could have any stat, I would like to know what other State subsidized schools have these alumni waivers.

---

Don't know about alumni waivers, but OU has the neighboring state discount. They lower tuition just for being from Texas. They do it for the same reason that LSU used to offer this scholarship. You have to attract qualified students and there are more highly qualified students in the DFW metro, and Houston Metro than probably the entire state of Louisiana.

This isn't just about this particular scholarship. All OOS efforts have decreased. I came to LSU on a full scholarship that I earned academically. My sister is going to a different SEC school because that scholarship no longer exists, even though she's an even better qualified applicant than I was.

The university never made any real effort to recruit her. She has one brother at the school, and two generations of alumni in the family. That's the kind of OOS student that the university needs, and they didn't make an effort. That's pathetic.

No, no one is entitled to attend LSU at all, much less at a discount.

I am of the opinion that it was a good recruiting tool for the school, and a way to attract qualified students who otherwise would not have come here. Almost without fail, it will be easier to recruit the child of an alumnus than it will to recruit an unaffiliated applicant. It was a great way to target and appeal to qualified students across the country. With the waiver the school was an excellent value for your education dollar. Without it, not so much. For that reason, I believe it was a mistake to take away the scholarship.

Has it been established that the money that funded this scholarship was subsidized by the state? If that is the case the "no tax revenue" argument given by other posters is a valid counter point to my feelings about the scholarship. If it was endowed or came from the general scholarship fund, then the school is getting the funds anyway, and the state isn't subsidizing those out of state students' tuition.

quote:

---

Now I have to tell him it'll depend on whether we can afford out-of-state tuition.

---

It's difficult to project what kind of grades/ACT/SAT he'll need in 7 years. But he hasn't started high school yet, so sit him down during his freshman year and let him know that if LSU is something he really wants, he's going to have to put in the 4 years of work. My brother is on a full academic scholarship, while I'm on the 75% scholarship. It's doable.

Tiger Authority with the bombshell

Some of you really have no idea how budgets work. Why should alumni who ditched the state and go make their living elsewhere and provide no tax investment into the state be given this benefit? It was a stupid "scholarship" to begin with.

If you chose to leave Louisiana like I did for work, then you have no gripe. You left. You are no longer a resident and shouldn't get the benefits a resident does.

quote:

---

I should probably clarify my position.


I don't think anyone here is saying this is a good thing for the University. And I can see how this might be a reasonable cut, considering the gross underfunding and the nature of the LA Legislature (a body I work with frequently).

I still believe that the recruitment of OOS legacies is vitally important to LSU. Institutions like Universities stand to gain immensely from familial traditions and a heritage of attendance.

I think my main gripe with this cut is that we will likely never see the scholarship re-instituted. Cuts like these are rarely temporary; when the University one day has a windfall, those dollars will likely go to pad the salary of an administrator like Mike Martin or Joe Alleva...not to students.

---

And while I concede that it may have negative effect on some, you can't expect for the state to provide the same financial incentive to those that live in the state and pay taxes and those that leave the state for economic opportunities and don't, only to come back and scream bloody murder because their kid can't have some scholarship because you went to LSU.

It's a losing argument and complete bullshite IMO.

quote:

---

There must be some way we can blame this on Obama....

---

Lot of similarities with those that believe going to school here 30 years ago entitles them to a lower tuition for their OOS kids and those in our country that don't pay any income taxes, complain about those that actually pay not paying their "fair share," and still feeling entitled to government benefits.

quote:

---

It will affect everyone negatively if a sufficient amount of money isn't found to recruit the most talented OOS students. My point was that LSU has a chance to recruit OOS talent that would NEVER otherwise considering a school like LSU simply because they have an alumni connection, and a financial stimulus.

---

Well if they're such prime candidates than I'm sure they can receive a scholarship at LSU. Because a kid getting in at UT is likely getting some financial incentive to come to LSU instead. A kid that gets into LSU without any incentive, isn't getting an incentive at UT either.

The ranking and attracting students based on our ranking is based on money. The top endowments are the top schools. LSU is underfunded and the state higher education system is a disaster.

quote:

---

While you argue that it isn't fair to Louisiana taxpayers, I would suggest that it isn't Mike Martin's role to appease the taxpayers or even necessarily to educate Louisianans, but instead to increase LSU's national profile. That is simply not possible when you consider the caliber of student making up the native demographic.

---

This completely misses the point. I, having been a Louisiana resident, paid taxes for the services offered in this state. One of these benefits for being a resident and paying those taxes is a decrease in the amount I'm expected to pay at a public university in the state, which makes perfect sense. Why should I foot the bill for our higher education when someone else doesn't have to and is able to receive the same benefit? Seems counter to any logical funding structure, but somehow you argue against this.

Again, who are these kids that can't afford LSU but can afford all these other amazing schools? Because LSU is likely cheaper than all of them, unless it's a shitty directional school.

quote:

---

This is important if LSU is ever to get itself off of state life support -- other prestigious Universities, and even other Universities within the SEC rarely rely upon state funding like LSU does.

---

bullshite.

I would be more in favor of a straight Texas tuition, which was higher than an instate scholarship, but less than the standard OOS tuition. It would open up the pool of qualify applicants, still result in higher tuition for OOS students, and won't complete dismiss the benefits of remaining instate.