University of Kansas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum and my child goes there. Plenty of alums in the DC area, several execs in industry and partners in firms here.
The university is a member of the AAU and is a major research institution. Just like any state flagship school, your child has the ability to get a solid foundation there. There is no reason they will end up in the Midwest after school unless they want to. Just as many of my college friends ended up on the west and east coasts compared to those that stayed in Kansas/Midwest.

As for campus/Lawrence, it is liberal. The Greek system is roughly 15-20% of the student population. Boys “informally rush” sr. year of HS and move straight into the fraternity houses as freshman. Campus involvement is encouraged. Study abroad is encouraged. Many students come from Johnson County which is the KC equivalent to Montgomery/Fairfax. The kids are wealthy, wear the same brand of clothing and drive the same cars as here. Depending on your child’s interest they will be able to find their pack there. Ethnic diversity will not be as wide as the DC area. The town of Lawrence is cute and quirky. The culture shock will come in the form of travel. Every trip is planned out versus getting in a car and driving a few hours to pop in.

KU is cheap. In state tuition is offered via scholarship if you meet HS GPA threshold and SAT score is above a certain number. It ended up being cheaper to send my child there than in state in VA.

KU is the only place you can be a Jayhawk. Rock Chalk!

So I’m guessing that if they informally rush as seniors in HS - anyone from out of state is at a huge disadvantage.

No they don't.

I graduated from KU honors, etc, got into JHU for grad school. Our kids are now in college and boy, they recruit hard for OOS children of grads. It's a great deal tuition-wise if your kid likes it. I had amazing professors with PhDs from Harvard etc and the honors program was so much better than what universities like Va Tech have. Hopefully KU hasn't changed the program since I went when there were small, challenging classes with the top professors -even for the typically big sciences classes - for the labs and discussion classes anyway. Kids attended from all over the US and world. I knew many who grew up in CA, the east coast, IL, and St. Louis whose parents attended and sent their kids there. Many international students continue to attend. I knew kids from South America that came from families who owned top newspapers who sent their kids to the J school because of its reputation while I was there. Very solid choice and it doesn't mean your kid will stay out there after school. Also Lawrence still leans very liberal - pretty much the top liberal spot in the state. William Burroughs lived there and I do remember seeing Alan Ginsberg there. Anyway, it's got everything you'd want from a large state university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum and my child goes there. Plenty of alums in the DC area, several execs in industry and partners in firms here.
The university is a member of the AAU and is a major research institution. Just like any state flagship school, your child has the ability to get a solid foundation there. There is no reason they will end up in the Midwest after school unless they want to. Just as many of my college friends ended up on the west and east coasts compared to those that stayed in Kansas/Midwest.

As for campus/Lawrence, it is liberal. The Greek system is roughly 15-20% of the student population. Boys “informally rush” sr. year of HS and move straight into the fraternity houses as freshman. Campus involvement is encouraged. Study abroad is encouraged. Many students come from Johnson County which is the KC equivalent to Montgomery/Fairfax. The kids are wealthy, wear the same brand of clothing and drive the same cars as here. Depending on your child’s interest they will be able to find their pack there. Ethnic diversity will not be as wide as the DC area. The town of Lawrence is cute and quirky. The culture shock will come in the form of travel. Every trip is planned out versus getting in a car and driving a few hours to pop in.

KU is cheap. In state tuition is offered via scholarship if you meet HS GPA threshold and SAT score is above a certain number. It ended up being cheaper to send my child there than in state in VA.

KU is the only place you can be a Jayhawk. Rock Chalk!

So I’m guessing that if they informally rush as seniors in HS - anyone from out of state is at a huge disadvantage.

From a fraternity perspective ... I disagree. Awareness is the key. Getting references from your friends and co-workers to make the houses aware that your son will be attending is important for OOS, imo. There is also a formal rush in the fall where fraternities will fill out their pledge classes and seek out OOS kids to balance their pledge class. For perspective, this is similar to other state schools my son considered. While some schools mandate that all freshman live in dorms, fraternities are polling their members to fill out perspective member lists. UGA made a big deal to remind HS Srs that they could not accept informal bids. However, he knew before the formal rush at UGA in the fall which houses were offering and part of that lead to the decision to go to KU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missouri is a scary place to be if you are liberal or of color.

You poor snowflake.

I live in Missouri and it's quickly becoming a shithole. We have the highest rate of Covid in the country. The legislature outlawed local law enforcement cooperating with the feds to enforce gun laws. We have two of the cities (KC and STL) with the highest rates of violent crime in the country. We have a violent sex offender (Eric Greitens) running for governor. We have a participant in the January 6 riot (Josh Hawley) as a senator. The legislature rejected all Medicaid money from Biden's healthcare bill, just to be spiteful.

[Anonymous]

you should move

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missouri is a scary place to be if you are liberal or of color.

You poor snowflake.

I live in Missouri and it's quickly becoming a shithole. We have the highest rate of Covid in the country. The legislature outlawed local law enforcement cooperating with the feds to enforce gun laws. We have two of the cities (KC and STL) with the highest rates of violent crime in the country. We have a violent sex offender (Eric Greitens) running for governor. We have a participant in the January 6 riot (Josh Hawley) as a senator. The legislature rejected all Medicaid money from Biden's healthcare bill, just to be spiteful.

+1 the governor is an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No OP just no. Why in the world would you pay for that?

Really people get a grip on the college thing.

Do you want your kid living in Kansas after college LOL Yuck.

It would probably be way better than living within 500 miles of you. Do you know you’re a horrible snobby person?

[Anonymous]

The land of religious wackos. If that’s your thing go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The land of religious wackos. If that’s your thing go for it.

You can find some religious wackos there, but probably at about the same rate as at UVA or UNC.

Really conservative students would tend to end up at Kansas State or at private religious colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is a rising senior and interested in going out of state, looking for a large school with lots of school spirit. Would need to give merit aid to offset out of state costs and University of Kansas seems to fit that bill. Niche reviews of the school seem to be great. Was wondering if anyone has any other knowledge or experience with the school. Would it be a culture shock for an east coast suburban kid coming to KU? DD is interested in UW Madison(reach) and Indiana as well but their outrageous out of state costs don’t seem to justify the outcomes of the education. Would she get a similar experience as Big Ten schools by going to Kansas. Their school spirit for basketball seems particularly strong.

school is fine, campus is fine, faculty is fine, Lawrence is quiet and safe but simple college town, nothing much to do, KC is an hour away, also not much to do and in the middle of nowhere ... we were faculty there, lived in KC metro for ~10 years then moved here when my kid was in middle school (in college now)
if you ask kid, there's no way going back in the midwest for college or after college job unless someone brings out the red carpet and 3 figure starting salary, and only for 2-3 years max and then get out of there

go PA or NY ... much, much, much better ... UPitt, Penn State, Syracuse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is a rising senior and interested in going out of state, looking for a large school with lots of school spirit. Would need to give merit aid to offset out of state costs and University of Kansas seems to fit that bill. Niche reviews of the school seem to be great. Was wondering if anyone has any other knowledge or experience with the school. Would it be a culture shock for an east coast suburban kid coming to KU? DD is interested in UW Madison(reach) and Indiana as well but their outrageous out of state costs don’t seem to justify the outcomes of the education. Would she get a similar experience as Big Ten schools by going to Kansas. Their school spirit for basketball seems particularly strong.

school is fine, campus is fine, faculty is fine, Lawrence is quiet and safe but simple college town, nothing much to do, KC is an hour away, also not much to do and in the middle of nowhere ... we were faculty there, lived in KC metro for ~10 years then moved here when my kid was in middle school (in college now)
if you ask kid, there's no way going back in the midwest for college or after college job unless someone brings out the red carpet and 3 figure starting salary, and only for 2-3 years max and then get out of there

go PA or NY ... much, much, much better ... UPitt, Penn State, Syracuse

btw, I would rather choose Nebraska at Lincoln vs KU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is a rising senior and interested in going out of state, looking for a large school with lots of school spirit. Would need to give merit aid to offset out of state costs and University of Kansas seems to fit that bill. Niche reviews of the school seem to be great. Was wondering if anyone has any other knowledge or experience with the school. Would it be a culture shock for an east coast suburban kid coming to KU? DD is interested in UW Madison(reach) and Indiana as well but their outrageous out of state costs don’t seem to justify the outcomes of the education. Would she get a similar experience as Big Ten schools by going to Kansas. Their school spirit for basketball seems particularly strong.

school is fine, campus is fine, faculty is fine, Lawrence is quiet and safe but simple college town, nothing much to do, KC is an hour away, also not much to do and in the middle of nowhere ... we were faculty there, lived in KC metro for ~10 years then moved here when my kid was in middle school (in college now)
if you ask kid, there's no way going back in the midwest for college or after college job unless someone brings out the red carpet and 3 figure starting salary, and only for 2-3 years max and then get out of there

go PA or NY ... much, much, much better ... UPitt, Penn State, Syracuse

btw, I would rather choose Nebraska at Lincoln vs KU

That’s another school I am looking at. However I heard that UNL students go home at weekends when it’s not football season. Since I’m from NYC area, I won’t be going home much. What would make you choose UNL over KU if you don’t mind answering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is a rising senior and interested in going out of state, looking for a large school with lots of school spirit. Would need to give merit aid to offset out of state costs and University of Kansas seems to fit that bill. Niche reviews of the school seem to be great. Was wondering if anyone has any other knowledge or experience with the school. Would it be a culture shock for an east coast suburban kid coming to KU? DD is interested in UW Madison(reach) and Indiana as well but their outrageous out of state costs don’t seem to justify the outcomes of the education. Would she get a similar experience as Big Ten schools by going to Kansas. Their school spirit for basketball seems particularly strong.

school is fine, campus is fine, faculty is fine, Lawrence is quiet and safe but simple college town, nothing much to do, KC is an hour away, also not much to do and in the middle of nowhere ... we were faculty there, lived in KC metro for ~10 years then moved here when my kid was in middle school (in college now)
if you ask kid, there's no way going back in the midwest for college or after college job unless someone brings out the red carpet and 3 figure starting salary, and only for 2-3 years max and then get out of there

go PA or NY ... much, much, much better ... UPitt, Penn State, Syracuse

UPitt, Penn State, and Syracuse are not in our budget range

[Anonymous]

I'm the very definition of an East Coast chauvinist, but I adore Lawrence. It's a great little college town. I also know some outstanding faculty at KU (I interact with a lot of college faculty all over the country through my job).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is a rising senior and interested in going out of state, looking for a large school with lots of school spirit. Would need to give merit aid to offset out of state costs and University of Kansas seems to fit that bill. Niche reviews of the school seem to be great. Was wondering if anyone has any other knowledge or experience with the school. Would it be a culture shock for an east coast suburban kid coming to KU? DD is interested in UW Madison(reach) and Indiana as well but their outrageous out of state costs don’t seem to justify the outcomes of the education. Would she get a similar experience as Big Ten schools by going to Kansas. Their school spirit for basketball seems particularly strong.

school is fine, campus is fine, faculty is fine, Lawrence is quiet and safe but simple college town, nothing much to do, KC is an hour away, also not much to do and in the middle of nowhere ... we were faculty there, lived in KC metro for ~10 years then moved here when my kid was in middle school (in college now)
if you ask kid, there's no way going back in the midwest for college or after college job unless someone brings out the red carpet and 3 figure starting salary, and only for 2-3 years max and then get out of there

go PA or NY ... much, much, much better ... UPitt, Penn State, Syracuse

btw, I would rather choose Nebraska at Lincoln vs KU

That’s another school I am looking at. However I heard that UNL students go home at weekends when it’s not football season. Since I’m from NYC area, I won’t be going home much. What would make you choose UNL over KU if you don’t mind answering

NP. UNL instate students come from all over the state. They definitely do not go home every weekend. Nebraska is big land mass wise, and students outside of Lincoln or Omaha do not go home except for regularly scheduled breaks. It’s a great college town, with lots of young adults staying year round.

[Anonymous]

I have direct experience with both KU and UNL and the schools and towns have different feels. I think KU is a better school and prefer the location but if you visit both you will likely have a preference.