Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in Kansas
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply. See every Kansas college priced for your income
From the state
Across state lines
From the colleges
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
In our Kansas scenarios, with good parent credit, a SmartTuition plan saves a median of about $6,600 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
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From the state
Kansas's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Kansas Comprehensive Grant
A grant for Kansas residents with financial need who enroll full time at a state university, Washburn or one of eighteen private colleges. It gives $100 to $4,000 a year at a public college and $200 to $10,000 at a private one.
Source: Kansas Board of Regents
“The Kansas Comprehensive Grant is available to students with financial need. Kansas residents enrolled full-time at eighteen private colleges and universities located in Kansas, the six state universities, and Washburn University.”
“There is not an application for this grant. To be considered you must complete and submit the FAFSA, listing one or more eligible colleges in the FAFSA.”
“award amounts ranging from $200 - $10,000 at the private institutions and $100 - $4,000 at the public institutions.”
Kansas Education Opportunity Scholarship
A scholarship for Kansas first-generation students, and children of Kansas teachers and paraprofessionals, working on a first undergraduate degree. It goes by academic record and financial need.
Source: Kansas Board of Regents
“The Kansas Education Opportunity Scholarship is intended to assist first-generation college students and/or dependents of teachers and paraprofessionals in Kansas with their first undergraduate degree.”
“recipients are selected based on academic proficiency and financial need as determined by federal methodology.”
Kansas Hero’s Scholarship
A waiver of tuition and required fees at a public Kansas college for the spouses and dependents of certain deceased or disabled public safety officers and military personnel, and prisoners of war. Funding is limited.
Source: Kansas Board of Regents
“The Kansas Hero’s Scholarship Act (KSA 75-4364) establishes a waiver which provides an opportunity for eligible dependents and spouses of certain deceased/disabled public safety officers and military personnel, and prisoners of war to attend an eligible public Kansas postsecondary educational institution without payment of tuition and required fees.”
“Waivers are guaranteed only up to the amount of funding appropriated by the KS legislature each year”
Kansas Military Service Scholarship
Tuition and fees at a public Kansas college for Kansas residents who served in a hostile-fire area for at least 90 days after September 11, 2001. Financial need is a priority, so a student files the FAFSA.
Source: Kansas Board of Regents
“The Kansas Military Service Scholarship is available for the payment of tuition and fees at a public Kansas institution for students who are a resident of Kansas and has: served in military service in international waters or on foreign soil in support of military operations for which the person received hostile fire pay for at least 90 days after September 11, 2001”
“Because financial need is a priority in awarding this scholarship, students will need to file a FAFSA form.”
Kansas National Guard Educational Assistance
Tuition and fees at a Kansas public college for an enlisted member of a Kansas Air or Army National Guard unit who has no bachelor’s degree. Dependents of members can apply too.
Source: Kansas Board of Regents
“The Kansas National Guard Educational Assistance provides tuition and fees for students enrolled at Kansas public institutions.”
“must be an enlisted member of a Kansas Air/Army National Guard unit. Full-time enrollment not required. Students must have a GED or high school diploma to qualify for this assistance. The member must not already have obtained a bachelor’s degree.”
“Dependents of KS National Guard members can apply to be considered to receive assistance.”
Kansas's 529 tax deduction
Money you put into any state's 529 plan comes off your Kansas income, up to $3,000 a year for each child, or $6,000 on a joint return. Take money out for anything other than school costs and Kansas adds it back to your income.
Source: Kansas Office of the Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 79-32,117
“The cumulative amounts not exceeding $3,000, or $6,000 for a married couple filing a joint return, for each designated beneficiary that are contributed to: (1) A family postsecondary education savings account established under the Kansas postsecondary education savings program or a qualified tuition program established and maintained by another state”
“Amounts received as nonqualified withdrawals, as defined by K.S.A. 75-643, and amendments thereto, if, at the time of contribution to a family postsecondary education savings account, such amounts were subtracted from the federal adjusted gross income”
Kansas State Scholarship
For Kansas high school graduates with financial need in the top 40 to 50 percent of their class, designated State Scholars in the senior year after finishing the required courses. Eligible students get a letter on how to apply.
Source: Kansas Board of Regents
“The Kansas State Scholarship is designed to assist students with financial need in the top 40-50% of Kansas high school graduates who are designated as state scholars during the senior year of high school.”
“received a letter detailing how you can apply for the Kansas State Scholarship.”
Kansas also has scholarships for community and technical colleges, adult learners, ROTC, and future nurses and teachers. See the Board of Regents' list.
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benedictine College private |
| — | $56,696 |
| Emporia State University public |
| — | $20,872 |
| Kansas State University public |
| The K-State Land Grant Promise: grant and scholarship aid equal to the cost of in-state tuition for Kansas residents with a family income of $80,000 or less and a Pell Grant | $28,222 |
| Pittsburg State University public |
| — | $21,134 |
| University of Kansas public |
| The Kansas Commitment: undergraduate base tuition and required student and wellness fees for Kansas residents with a family income of $75,000 or less | $28,898 |
| Wichita State University public |
| The Shocker Promise: the gap in tuition and fees for Kansas residents with a family income and assets of $60,000 or less, for the fall 2027 class | $27,552 |
* The finder and our college comparison show this scholarship when you enter your student's GPA.
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
4 more Kansas colleges have no page here. For 0 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them
- Fort Hays State University
- Washburn University
- Baker University
- Friends University
Across state lines
The Midwest Student Exchange Program, run by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact.
Coming to Kansas from another Midwest exchange state
Students from Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin can pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at the public colleges that take part, for the programs each chooses. Private colleges take 10% off.
A student applies to the college, not to the exchange.
In Kansas, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Friends University and Wichita State University take part.
Going from Kansas to another Midwest exchange state
A Kansas student can use it the other way, at the colleges that take part in the other seven states. Each college's exchange contact explains how to apply.
Source: Midwestern Higher Education Compact, Midwest Student Exchange Program
“Through the MSEP, participating public institutions agree to charge students no more than 150% of the in-state resident tuition rate for selected programs, and private institutions offer a 10% reduction on their tuition rates.”
“Eight of MHEC’s member states participate in this voluntary program: Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.”
“You must be a legal resident of one of these eight states and enrolling as a non-resident at a participating institution in one of the other participating states.”
“You apply directly to the school, not to the MSEP.”
Paying the rest
Your SmartTuition plan uses your savings, your 529, your loans and your award letter.
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How we worked these out
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The $6,600 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving over our Kansas scenarios. Each scenario is a household in Kansas at one of its colleges. Its income is one of 8 from $45,000 to $200,000, and its savings are none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price each college at the aid it reports for the income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. A saving is the difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest, the federal tax credit and Kansas' tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan. Credit matters: parents with fair credit borrow at a higher rate, which changes the saving.
A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out, as is one at a college that reports no aid for the income. The figure is for a household that lives in Kansas.
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.