University of Kansas
Public Research University in Lawrence, KS. Six-year graduation rate 69%. Median 10-year earnings $61,945.
Ten-year median earnings of $61,945 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 69% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.34 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
University of Kansas admits 93% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. The applicant pool is large — 22,363 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield sits at 26% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 9% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 540–650 | 456 (9%) |
| SAT Math | 530–650 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–28 | 2,939 (55%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Kansas →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 69% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 86%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 21% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Retention drops to 65% 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 19,857 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $19,205 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $12,544 at the $0–30k band to $22,544 at $110k+. About 78% get grants averaging $11,372, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. About 39% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 5,159 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 | $12,544 |
| $30–48k | $12,942 |
| $48–75k | $15,154 |
| $75–110k | $19,169 |
| $110k+ | $22,544 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,720 of these 19,857 students, totalling $48,726,727 — an average of $6,312 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Douglas 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)