Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Was wondering if the social scene is similar to schools like Indiana and OSU? Greek like seems to be only 20 percent which isn’t overwhelming compared to southern schools. Are students there mostly friendly…. and being from OOS would you feel out of place. Concerned about that as we are from nyc area and she has never been to the far midwest. Mizzou is another school with similar out of state scholarships and rankings but it seemed to have a bad rep when I posted it here a while ago. .

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

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Was wondering if the social scene is similar to schools like Indiana and OSU? Greek like seems to be only 20 percent which isn’t overwhelming compared to southern schools. Are students there mostly friendly…. and being from OOS would you feel out of place. Concerned about that as we are from nyc area and she has never been to the far midwest. Mizzou is another school with similar out of state scholarships and rankings but it seemed to have a bad rep when I posted it here a while ago. .

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

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!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Was wondering if the social scene is similar to schools like Indiana and OSU? Greek like seems to be only 20 percent which isn’t overwhelming compared to southern schools. Are students there mostly friendly…. and being from OOS would you feel out of place. Concerned about that as we are from nyc area and she has never been to the far midwest. Mizzou is another school with similar out of state scholarships and rankings but it seemed to have a bad rep when I posted it here a while ago. .

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

Anonymous wrote:I am from Kansas. Did not go to KU. Instead chose to go to U of Arizona. Honestly cause it was perceived as a fun school and I wanted to get out of town. Nevertheless, KU certainly seems to have a lot of school spirit and good enough academics. For the people that say, yuck - Kansas or Midwest in general, have you even ever lived there ? I did - and I’ve lived in Arizona, overseas, Maryland and DC. Certain parts of Kansas are pretty much the same as certain parts of DC or Maryland. Let’s be honest, we tend to go to certain places and do certain things; the East coast and Midwest aren’t exactly geographically opposites and the weather is pretty much similar. So it’s not a huge leap. It’s the friendships and experiences she chooses to involve herself in that will make the difference. If she likes to have fun, perhaps be involved in Greek life and get a decent education and doesn’t mind being far from home, KU fits that bill.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Was wondering if the social scene is similar to schools like Indiana and OSU? Greek like seems to be only 20 percent which isn’t overwhelming compared to southern schools. Are students there mostly friendly…. and being from OOS would you feel out of place. Concerned about that as we are from nyc area and she has never been to the far midwest. Mizzou is another school with similar out of state scholarships and rankings but it seemed to have a bad rep when I posted it here a while ago. .