At a Glance
Kansas admits 92.6% of applicants.
What You'll Actually Pay
See what families at different income levels actually pay after aid.
What families actually pay, by income level
After grants and scholarships. Before loans. Public school prices shown at in-state rates.
Source: College Scorecard / IPEDS, 2024-25
Where the Sticker Price Goes
Based on average need-based grant. Actual cost varies by family income — see chart above.
Shown at in-state rates.
Debt at Graduation
33.3%
receive need-based grant aid
$24,000
average debt at graduation
Kansas graduates carry an average of $24,000 in debt.
Merit Aid
7,853
students received merit aid
$8,270
average merit award
Getting In
Kansas admits 92.6% of applicants.
SAT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 7% of the class submitted
ACT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 51% of the class submitted
26% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What They Value
Academic
Nonacademic
University of Kansas gives essays less weight than many schools — academics drive most admissions decisions here. Demonstrated interest is Not Considered here — campus visits and emails to admissions won't affect your odds.
Student Life
38.6% of Kansas classes have fewer than 20 students.
Share of undergraduate class sections at each size, from CDS Section I-3. More red = more large lectures.
At Kansas, 38.6% of your classes will have fewer than 20 students.
Class size data reflects all undergraduate sections including labs, seminars, and lectures. Large research universities often have smaller upper-division and graduate-level sections that improve the overall distribution. First and second-year students typically experience larger classes than these averages suggest.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section I-3 (class sizes)
18:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus Life
From out of state (freshman class)
38.8%
Live on campus
25%
Men in fraternities
14%
Women in sororities
28%
Who Attends
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduates, as reported in each school's Common Data Set. "Unknown / Other" includes students who did not report or selected "other."
Kansas's student body is 68% white.
Popular Majors
Will They Graduate?
Kansas graduates 55.6% of students in 4 years.
Graduating late means paying for extra semesters. The 6-year rate tells you who eventually finishes — the 4-year rate tells you what it actually costs.
Kansas graduates 55.6% of students in 4 years.
What finishing late actually costs
Based on each school's published cost of attendance. Public school costs shown at in-state rates.
Kansas
55.6%
4-yr grad rate
Extra year cost: $26,751*
* In-state cost of attendance. Out-of-state students pay significantly more.
Graduation rate data from Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2018 cohort (most recent available). 4-year rate = students completing in 4 years or less. 6-year rate = students completing within 6 years.
70%
Overall 6-yr rate
58%
Pell recipient rate
A 12 point graduation gap between lower-income and overall students suggests financial or academic challenges for some students.
Freshman Retention
87%
87% of first-year students return for sophomore year.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Lawrence.
Lawrence sits on the Kansas River about 45 minutes west of downtown Kansas City, and campus climbs Mount Oread above Massachusetts Street — the historic downtown strip of independent shops, restaurants and live-music venues that gives the city its identity. It was founded in 1854 by antislavery settlers and was the target of Quantrill's Raid during the Civil War, a history the city still marks every year. Basketball reorders the social calendar here more than in most college towns: Allen Fieldhouse sits a few blocks from the dorms, and the Rock Chalk chant carries down Mass Street after a win.
Notable Alumni
Wilt Chamberlain
One of the most dominant players in basketball history. He played center at Kansas from 1956 to 1958 before turning pro, then went on to score 100 points in a single NBA game, win four MVP awards, take two championships, and enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Gale Sayers
Running back known as the "Kansas Comet," who played for the Jayhawks from 1962 to 1964 before becoming NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a five-time Pro Bowler with the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 and is still its youngest inductee.
William Inge
Playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Picnic and an Academy Award for the screenplay of Splendor in the Grass. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1935 with a degree in speech and drama, and his plays became known for their portraits of small-town Midwestern life.
Class of 1935
Sara Paretsky
Novelist who created the V.I. Warshawski detective series and is considered the founding mother of Sisters in Crime, an organization supporting women in mystery writing. She earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Kansas before completing an MBA and a PhD in history at the University of Chicago.
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
The City
College town
Lawrence, KS
Best For
Traditions
Rock Chalk Chant
The chant — "Rock chalk, Jayhawk, KU" — was born in 1886 when a KU science club wanted a cheer of its own, and "rock chalk" nods to the chalky limestone of Mount Oread, the ridge campus sits on. It has been used at Jayhawk games for well over a century and is regularly named among the great chants in college sports.
Late Night in the Phog
The annual midnight kickoff to men's and women's basketball season at Allen Fieldhouse, with team introductions, scrimmages and past musical guests including Snoop Dogg and 2 Chainz. It's the unofficial start of Kansas basketball every fall.
Beware of the Phog
A banner reading "Pay Heed, All Who Enter: Beware of the Phog" hangs above the championship banners in Allen Fieldhouse. Students first made it out of dormitory shower curtains before a 1988 game against Duke, and the original now hangs in the Booth Family Hall of Athletics.
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Lawrence
Kansas City
45 minutesA major metro with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Country Club Plaza, the Power & Light District, and some of the country's best barbecue.
Topeka
25 minutesThe Kansas state capital, with the domed Kansas State Capitol building and the Combat Air Museum.
St. Louis, Missouri
About 3 hours 45 minutesThe Gateway Arch, the City Museum, and Cardinals baseball at Busch Stadium.
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Kansas City International (MCI)
50 minutes from campus
For international flights: Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) — about 8 hours by road, or one connecting flight.
Pro sports nearby
- Kansas City Chiefs NFL
- Kansas City Royals MLB
- Sporting Kansas City MLS
Career Proximity
Kansas City's corporate corridor sits about 45 minutes from campus, anchored by Garmin, H&R Block, Black & Veatch, AMC Theatres, Hallmark Cards and Oracle Health (formerly Cerner) — so internships in engineering, health IT and financial services here are a commute, not a summer relocation.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Garmin
- H&R Block
- Black & Veatch
- AMC Theatres
- Hallmark Cards
- Oracle Health (Cerner)
Kansas City — about 45 minutes from campus
Who Thrives Here
Kansas admits 92.6% of applicants and enrolls 22,544 undergraduates in Lawrence, a genuine college town about 45 minutes from Kansas City's job market and pro sports teams. Basketball is the defining culture here rather than a footnote: Allen Fieldhouse — nicknamed "The Phog" — is one of the sport's most storied arenas, the Rock Chalk chant dates to 1886, and Late Night in the Phog kicks off preseason at midnight every fall. Greek life is present without dominating — 14% of men and 28% of women join — and only 25% of undergraduates live in university housing, so most of campus life happens off Mount Oread. The real trade-off is time-to-degree: just 55.6% finish in four years, though 70.0% get there within six, so a Jayhawk's own plan should budget for the slower path. In-state students pay $12,453 a year and everyone else pays $31,332.