Kansas State University
Public Research University in Manhattan, KS. Six-year graduation rate 71%. Median 10-year earnings $57,262.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $57,262 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 71% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $21,250, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Kansas State University accepts 82% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. With 15,509 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. About 28% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 550–640 | 220 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 510–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–27 | 2,812 (81%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Kansas State University →Academics
71% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 86% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 44% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 14,835 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $20,527 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $13,178 at the $0–30k band to $23,665 at $110k+. About 79% get grants averaging $9,409, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 37% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 3,124 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $13,178 |
| $30–48k | $14,143 |
| $48–75k | $15,369 |
| $75–110k | $20,110 |
| $110k+ | $23,665 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,485 of these 14,835 students, totalling $34,258,908 — an average of $6,246 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Riley County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)