<p>I am going to be a freshman and would like to live off campus. What apartment buildings/complex would you recommend? Many that I looked at seem overpriced or have very bad reviews.</p>
<p>hmmm...i don't know of any right of the bat. try checking lsu's paper The Daily Reville's ad section.</p>
<p>btw: you can access it online from lsu's homepage</p>
<p>I assume you got some sort of exemption for the required freshmen live on-campus policy that LSU has. </p>
<p>If you are looking to live by yourself, no apartment complex is going to be cheap. You'll probably be looking at $700-1300/month for either a studio or 1-bedroom apartment that moderately close to LSU. The cheaper range will most likely not include utilities and some of the cheaper of ones may be in North Area outside of LSU that has a reputation for being a little dangerous (though I have friends that live in that area and nothing has ever happened to them). It also depends how nice of apartment you are going to want. At Southgate Towers, for instance, the apartments are expensive, but they are a lot nicer than say the 1-bedroom apartments at Embassy Apts (which aren't that bad from the ones I've been in, they are just not as nice), which are in the same area. </p>
<p>If you are looking for roommates, you can check the LSU reveille classifieds for apartment listings, or people who are looking for roommates to fill a room. You can also checkout Campus Crossing apartment complexes, which rent out by room, not by apartment. The three CC complexes in Baton Rouge are Brightside, Highland, and The Venue, with the Venue being the most expensive, but also the nicest of the three. I think the room rates around $450-600/month, I don't remember off the top of my head. They have websites you can look at, just google the particular complex with campus crossing in the name.</p>
<p>You can also check craigslist for apartment complexes. Also, there are condos that often leased out by the owners, you can check those out by reading classifieds.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind, no complex is going to be perfect. And reviews can be misleading, such that most people only go on review websites to write a review when they've had something negative happen to them.</p>
<p>It is not mandatory that freshman live in the residence halls, however, we do encourage it. Students who live on campus tend to make better grades and get a chance to be a part of the LSU community. </p>
<p>In July 2008, the LSU Board of Supervisors postponed the implementation of First Year Residency Requirement. It will be re-evaluated in late 2010.</p>
<p>I got this off the LSU housing FAQ page...are you sure it is mandatory to live on campus freshman year?</p>
<p>Yes they were talking about it, but it never went through. Not mandatory to live on campus.</p>
<p>Yup, I must have missed that memo.</p>