La. universities offer choices in education

In addition, Baton Rouge has a private institution, Our Lady of the Lake College, that offers some two- and four-year degrees, mostly in health fields.

Two regional universities, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, are a short drive from Baton Rouge.

BRCC offers lower-level college courses that are accepted by LSU, Southern and Southeastern. The school also offers associate degrees.

Louisiana residents pay about $1,700 a year -- two semesters -- to take a full-time course load at BRCC.

LSU generally enrolls freshmen who earned better-than-average grades on a specific college-preparatory curriculum in high school or who otherwise prove they are ready for college courses.

LSU's main campus in Baton Rouge is by far the state's largest university, enrolling more than 30,000 students.

LSU offers a broad spectrum of education in the arts, sciences, engineering, business, music, design, education, agriculture and veterinary medicine. A law school shares the campus but acts as a separate entity.

LSU is a federal land grant and sea grant college and conducts extensive research in agriculture and water-related fields.

Tuition is about $2,200 per semester for full-time Louisiana students.