Your introduction to college life at LSU is your freshman dorm experience. It can make or break your first year. Land in a good dorm with good people and you’ll make friends and memories that’ll stay with you for life. End up in a bad one, and you’ll be longing for the comforts of home and counting down the days until Thanksgiving.
The best dorms at LSU depend on you and what you’re looking for. Camellia, Azalea, and Cedar have the nicest amenities. But if you’re more concerned with the social scene and proximity to campus hotspots, you might be happier somewhere like Herget.
Table of Contents
- Camellia Hall
- Azalea Hall
- Cedar Hall
- Residential College One Complex (RCC)
- Spruce Hall
- Cypress Hall
- Highland Hall
- East and West Laville Halls
- Herget Hall
- The Bottom Line on the Best Dorms at LSU
So you’re headed to LSU in the fall? Get ready for legendary football tailgates, raucous Saturdays at Tiger Stadium, gorgeous weather (as long as you don’t mind sweating a little in August), and unforgettable nights you’ll barely remember in Tiger Town. And as long as you keep up with your studies along the way, you’ll leave with a prestigious and marketable degree.
Now let’s talk about your living situation your first year. The freshman dorms at LSU don’t vary as much in quality as at other schools. It’s not a situation where the lucky (or deep-pocketed) freshmen get luxury apartments and the less-fortunate get shoeboxes that resemble cells at Guantanamo. Almost all the freshman dorms at LSU feature standard two-person rooms and either suite-style or hall-style bathrooms. (A few have three and four-person rooms. Those, not surprisingly, didn’t make our list.)
But just because LSU’s dorm quality is reasonably consistent doesn’t mean there aren’t differences you should be aware of. Here are the best dorms at LSU, the reasons why they’re tops, and how to get into them.
Camellia Hall
- Community: Greenhouse District
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Foyer-suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,955
Topping our list of the best dorms at LSU for freshmen is Camellia Hall. Situated in the Greenhouse District near the 459 Commons Dining Hall, Barnes and Noble, and UREC, Camellia has the best location of all the new, shiny dorms on campus. You can grab dinner, hit the gym, and pick up a new book, all within steps of your dorm.
The rooms in Camellia aren’t huge, and you’ll probably have to share yours with another person as singles are in short supply and reserved for students with disabilities. But they’re nice and modern, and residents rarely complain about broken A/Cs, low water pressure, bugs, drafty windows, and other common dorm gripes.
Camellia’s foyer-style bathrooms add a little extra space to your suite. The exterior door enters into a main bathroom area with two sinks. There are doors off to each side for the toilet and shower. Along the back wall of the foyer area, doors lead into each of the two bedrooms.
That said, you get what you pay for — at almost $5,000 per semester, Camellia is the most expensive of the traditional dorms at LSU.
How to get in: Camellia is home to the Engineering Residential College. So, if you like math and engineering and want to live in the nicest dorm on campus as a freshman, sign up for this residential college (preferably as soon as possible!).
Azalea Hall
- Community: Greenhouse District
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Foyer-suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,665
Azalea Hall is almost identical to Camellia hall in how the rooms and suites are laid out. The buildings themselves also have similar layouts. Like Camellia, Azalea hall is mostly double rooms and foyer-style suite bathrooms.
Azalea is in the Greenhouse District near the same campus hubs. But it’s located directly on Campus Drive across from the East Campus Apartments, whereas Camellia is set back a little, closer to the lake. The difference in location likely explains the small price difference between the two dorms, as once you get inside, they’re almost indistinguishable from one another.
How to get in: Azalea isn’t currently the home of any of LSU’s residential colleges. If Azalea is your first choice, we recommend getting your housing deposit in as quickly as possible and selecting it as your top pic.
Cedar Hall
- Community: The Forest
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Foyer-suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,665
Look, another dorm you can’t tell apart from the first two — at least when you get inside. This is another new dorm on LSU’s campus featuring double rooms and foyer-suite baths, individually controllable air conditioning, and plenty of amenities outside your room, including study rooms, a gaming room, and card-controlled laundry. Along with Camellia and Azalea, it’s considered by many to be among the three best dorms at LSU.
Cedar Hall is in a different neighborhood from Camellia and Azalea. It’s located in “The Forest,” close to a mile way from the first two dorms and on the far north end of campus. It’s next to the 5 Dining Hall and the campus library. For you bookworms and serious students, Cedar might be your place.
How to get in: No residential colleges or special interest groups are currently housed in Cedar. Get your housing deposit in early if you want to live there!
Residential College One Complex (RCC)
- Community: Residential College One Complex
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,825
The Residential College One Complex (RCC) actually consists of three dorms — North Hall, South Hall, and West Hall — plus an administrative and faculty-in-residence building called, wait for it, East Hall. The complex is new and modern. It offers large double rooms where two rooms are connected by a Jack-and-Jill suite bath.
If you like sports and socializing, you can’t beat RCC’s location. It’s on the west side of campus, just north of Tiger Stadium and the basketball arena. It’s also right next to the new beach volleyball courts and arena. You might have to set notifications on your phone to remember to study and attend class!
How to get in: You have several residential college choices if you want to get into an RCC dorm. The Business Residential College is housed in West. The Humanities and Social Sciences Residential College is housed in North. And the Mass Communication Residential College is housed in South.
Spruce Hall
- Community: The Forest
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,535
The rooms in Forest Hall are laid out similarly to those in the RCC. They are almost the exact size and shape. In many ways, Spruce Hall might be considered even nicer than the RCC. It’s farther north, away from the hubbub of Central Campus, making it a good fit for quieter, more introverted students who don’t always want to be in the middle of all the action.
Spruce has its own courtyard space — perfect for those sunny fall and spring days, of which Baton Rouge has many. It also offers several popular amenities inside, including individual study pods and a gaming room. Oh, and it costs almost $300 less per semester than an RCC dorm.
How to get in: Your best bet is to submit your housing forms and deposit early and specifically request Spruce. You can’t get in via a residential college since none are currently housed there.
Cypress Hall
- Community: The Forest
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,825
Cypress Hall is in the same neighborhood as Spruce Hall and has an almost identical room layout. The buildings are also similar on both the outside and inside. The only real difference is that Cypress offers a few amenities that Spruce doesn’t, which accounts for the $290-per-semester price difference.
Inside Cypress Hall you’ll find an impressive kinesiology studio, along with two classrooms, a conference room, and interior bicycle storage. The dorm also has a front porch with rocking chairs that serves as a popular place for residents to gather on cool nights.
How to get in: You can up your chances of getting a room in Cypress by signing up for the College of Human Sciences and Education Residential College.
Highland Hall
- Community: Horseshoe Community
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Suite
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: No
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,825
Highland Hall is in the Horseshoe Community, just south of the Law School. Its suite-style rooms are a little smaller and boxier than the ones in the RCC, Spruce, and Cypress Halls. But the beds are loftable, enabling you to free up floor space by putting other furniture items like your desk and dresser underneath.
Highland is right next to the LSU Barnes and Noble and has its own computer lab with free printing, making it a solid choice for academic types. And if you need a little caffeine to fuel your all-night study sessions, Highland is the closest dorm on campus to Starbucks.
How to get in: Science geeks to the front of the line! LSU’s Science Residential College is housed in Highland.
East and West Laville Halls
- Community: Laville Community
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Hall
- Sink in room: Yes
- A/C control in room: Yes
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $4,565
East and West Laville Halls are LSU’s honors dorms. They were fully renovated in the early 2010s. Rooms now feature sinks, thermostats, and movable, loftable beds. The bathrooms are community-style, which many of its residents actually prefer since they get cleaned daily by custodial staff.
Because both buildings are occupied by honors students, the environment tends to be less raucous and party-centric than a typical freshman dorm. Adding to the academic environment are small lounges, study spaces, and even libraries on each floor.
You can lower the cost of Laville by about $240 per semester by agreeing to live in a four-person room instead of a two-person room. Pro-tip: It isn’t worth it.
How to get in: Make good grades in high school, crush the ACT or SAT, and get admitted to LSU’s Honors College.
Herget Hall
- Community: Herget Community
- Room style: Doubles
- Bathroom style: Hall
- Sink in room: No
- A/C control in room: No
- Movable furniture: Yes
- Cost per semester: $3,340
Herget Hall, in our opinion, is the nicest of the “discount dorms” on LSU’s campus. It doesn’t have the recent renovations or the upscale amenities of the other dorms on our list, but its price tag is more than $1,000 lower per semester.
Herget tends to be an active and social dorm. It’s situated near the rec center and Greek Row. So, if you like to pump iron and plan to frat hard when you get to campus, Herbert will probably save you a lot of long walks in the Baton Rouge heat.
The patio in back of the dorm overlooks the lake and is a popular place for students to socialize after class and on the weekends. Unlike in some of the “nicer” dorms where students tend to keep a little more to themselves, Herget seems to foster a unique camaraderie every year, and its residents stay tight with each other throughout their four years at LSU and beyond.
How to get in: You can’t get into Hebert by joining a residential college. But since so many of the other dorms have been renovated more recently, the demand for it isn’t as high, so you can usually get in simply by requesting it.
The Bottom Line on the Best Dorms at LSU
The best dorm at LSU for you might not be the best for someone else. As with college majors, romantic partners, and fashion, we all have different tastes. Some prioritize amenities and comfort. Others want to be where the action is and prefer a social dorm, even if it means sacrificing a little in the way of luxury.
The great thing about LSU is there’s something for everyone. As long as you understand your options and choose your dorm carefully, you can have a freshman year to remember. Geaux Tigers!
