Cost Comparison of Colleges in Kansas

When it comes time for prospective college students to choose a college or university to attend these days, cost typically plays a huge factor -sometimes more than actual academic majors. Thankfully there are various types of accredited colleges and universities to choose from: state and private universities and community colleges. Each type of school comes with its own pricing structure, and the same broad academic major choices like Business, Liberal Arts, Sociology, etc. Of course, if you are looking at doing something specific like veterinary medicine, you’ll have fewer options. Here are a few options in the state of Kansas, their current tuition fees, and academic options for which they are well known.

State University

Kansas State University is one of two state universities in Kansas with a Division I ranking. K-State is located in Manhattan, KS, about an hour West of the state capital of Topeka. Manhattan is your typical “college town” with about 52,000 residents and 24,000 current Wildcats.

While K-State is known for their oft-winning football team, they are well-known academically for their studies in agriculture, as well as their engineering and veterinary medicine programs. The Princeton Review recently named Kansas State University as one of the top seventy-five public universities in the country.

Tuition for the Fall 2011/Spring 2012 Term is $231.20 per credit hour for Kansas residents and $613.40 for non-residents. Courses in the College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering have an additional fee of $20 per credit hour. Residence options vary widely from $512/semester to $3599/semester depending on room-type, the number of roommates, and meal plans.

Private University

Baker University is a private university whose main campus – the College of Arts and Sciences – is nestled in Baldwin City, KS, about an hour Southwest of Kansas City. Much smaller than K-State, Baker University had about 3,900 total students in 2010 – an increase from previous years – with just under one thousand students attending the main campus. Baker University is well-known for their Pre-Law and Business programs.

Full time Baker attendees, whether taking 12 or 18 credit hours, pay a straight $23,310/year tuition fee. Students taking less than 12 hours pay $705/credit hour. Housing ranges from $3,420/year to $5,360/year, again depending on type of housing and the number of roommates.

Community College

Johnson County Community College is located on 234 acres in the heart of Overland Park, KS, one of the largest suburbs of Kansas City. In the Fall semester of 2010, there were 20,869 students enrolled at JCCC. JCCC offers over fifty one-year certificate and two-year associate degree and certificate programs that help students find credible work upon graduation. JCCC students can take classes ranging from your typical general education requirements to classes on fashion merchandising, broadcasting, and Emergency Medical Sciences.

Much cheaper than universities, JCCC tuition is $81/credit hour for Johnson County, KS residents, $96/credit hour for Kansas residents of other counties, and $189/credit hour for out-of-state residents. This information, as well as other admission information, can be found on their website.


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