What You'll Actually Pay
Price after grants
$12,544 to $22,544 a year for in-state students, depending on income.
College Scorecard 2024 estimate · in-state rates
See the price at your income ↑Sticker price
Full cost before aid: $26,751 a year in-state. Average need-based aid package: $19,571.Aid and debt
33.3%
receive need-based grants
$24,000
average debt at graduation
7,853
students got merit aid
about 35% of undergraduates
$8,270
average merit award
Getting In
Key dates
Transfer Deadlines
Test scores
SAT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 1080–1280 · 7% of the class submitted
ACT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 20–28 · 51% of the class submitted
26% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What they value
- Very important
- GPA
- Considered
- SAT/ACT scores
- Not considered
- Course rigor (AP/IB)
- Class rank
- Personal essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Special talent
- Character
- First-gen status
- Legacy status
- Where you're from
- In-state residency
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Demonstrated interest
What this means for you
Kansas doesn't consider demonstrated interest in admissions at all — visits and follow-up emails won't move the needle here.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section C7 (admissions factors)
Kansas just showed you what it values in an application. Use that to write a Why-Kansas essay that's actually about you — not a template.
Get sourced starting points for your essayStudent Life
38.6% of Kansas classes have fewer than 20 students.
38.6%
under 20 students
43.1%
20 to 49
18.3%
50 or more
Every class section counts, labs and seminars included; first-year courses tend to be larger. Kansas CDS 2025–26, I-3.
18:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus life
38.8%
first-years from out of state
25%
live on campus
14%
of men in fraternities
28%
of women in sororities
Who attends
- White68%
- Hispanic11.4%
- Multiracial6%
- Asian5.8%
- Black4.3%
- Unknown / other0.8%
Enrolled undergraduates; international students are counted separately and not included. Kansas CDS 2025–26, B2.
Popular majors
Will They Graduate?
55.6% of Kansas students graduate in 4 years.
55.6%
finish in 4 years
Entered fall 2019
70%
finish in 6 years
Entered fall 2019
87%
return after first year
Finishing late means paying for extra semesters, so the 4-year rate is the one that shows the cost.
Students with Pell Grants
58% finish in 6 years, against 70% of all students.
A 12-point gap: Pell Grant students finish less often than students overall.
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.
MoreLess
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.
The City
College town
Lawrence, KS
Best For
Notable alumni
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.
Traditions
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 from Lawrence
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 and game days
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
Internships and jobs nearby
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
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.