Kansas: aid after freshman year
Four-year colleges in Kansas, ranked by the gap between the average freshman grant and the average grant in later years.
Official price reports: Kansas Regents universities
We have IPEDS 2022-23 grant data for 24 four-year colleges in Kansas. At 16 of them, the average grant for continuing undergraduates was lower than the average freshman grant. The median gap was $496 per recipient, compared with $1,064 nationally.
The largest gaps: Baker University ($13,985), Southwestern College ($5,778), Friends University ($5,240). Median gap at public colleges: −$262 (8 colleges); at private nonprofits: $1,956 (16 colleges).
Explain the numbers
- Freshman grant: total grant aid to first-time, full-time freshmen divided by the number who got grants (2022-23).
- Later years: the same average for all other degree-seeking undergraduates who got grants, including transfers and part-time students.
- Drop: freshman average minus later-years average. Above zero means later-year recipients averaged less. In Kansas, 16 of 24 colleges are above zero and 16 meet our traditional 4-year filter.
- Median: half of the colleges in Kansas have a smaller drop than $496, half larger.
- IPEDS data runs about two years behind; current-year prices come from state reports where available.
Averages across recipients, not a prediction for one student. Colleges with large part-time or online enrollment are marked; read the methodology. See 2026-27 published costs for this state.
| # | College | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baker University Baldwin City · Private · large part-time/online share | $13,985 |
| 2 | Southwestern College Winfield · Private · large part-time/online share | $5,778 |
| 3 | Friends University Wichita · Private · large part-time/online share | $5,240 |
| 4 | Central Christian College of Kansas McPherson · Private · large part-time/online share | $4,986 |
| 5 | Tabor College Hillsboro · Private | $4,322 |
| 6 | Sterling College Sterling · Private | $2,106 |
| 7 | MidAmerica Nazarene University Olathe · Private | $2,105 |
| 8 | Hesston College Hesston · Private | $2,006 |
| 9 | Newman University Wichita · Private · large part-time/online share | $1,907 |
| 10 | Fort Hays State University Hays · Public · large part-time/online share | $1,216 |
| 11 | Kansas Wesleyan University Salina · Private | $661 |
| 12 | Kansas State University Manhattan · Public | $519 |
| 13 | McPherson College McPherson · Private | $474 |
| 14 | Benedictine College Atchison · Private | $307 |
| 15 | Wichita State University Wichita · Public · large part-time/online share | $142 |
| 16 | University of Saint Mary Leavenworth · Private | $8 |
| 17 | Washburn University Topeka · Public · large part-time/online share | −$250 |
| 18 | University of Kansas Lawrence · Public | −$275 |
| 19 | Bethel College-North Newton North Newton · Private | −$900 |
| 20 | Pittsburg State University Pittsburg · Public | −$1,098 |
| 21 | Bethany College Lindsborg · Private | −$1,130 |
| 22 | Ottawa University-Ottawa Ottawa · Private | −$1,313 |
| 23 | Emporia State University Emporia · Public | −$1,531 |
| 24 | Haskell Indian Nations University Lawrence · Public | −$1,649 |
Source: IPEDS SFA 2022-23.
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