The first step in going to college is to apply! For many students, applying to college can be a daunting task, but it can be particularly overwhelming for students who may be the first in their family to pursue postsecondary educational dreams or have yet to consider their plans after high school.
Apply Kansas, is our annual statewide campaign in which high schools conduct events to help seniors apply to college with their peers and with help, guidance, and a cheering squad from school staff, local community supporters, and postsecondary volunteers. In partnership with the American College Application Campaign, Apply Kansas is a state-wide initiative to increase the number of students applying, enrolling, and succeeding in college or other postsecondary goals.
We encourage your high school to register. We’ll help you with resources, tips, and tools to help you host a successful event!
Step 1: Register your school or community organization as a host site for a 2025 Apply Kansas event!
Step 2: Attend a training or view the virtual training. See below.
Step 3: Plan your event
Step 4: Host your event and collect student data
Step 5: Submit your Apply Kansas Site Completion data - Due December 1st
Next, check out the All Star High School page.
Additional Apply Kansas details are located below.
Resources and reports
Apply Free Days Information and Resources
2024 Apply Free Days Application Instructions
Site Coordinator Information & Resources
Promoting the Event
Apply Kansas Site Completion Survey Questions
2024 Kansas Admission Guide (links to applications for admission, financial aid departments, and scholarship deadlines)
FAFSA & Financial Aid Resources
Apply Kansas Steering Committee Members
Annual Reports:
2024 Apply Kansas Annual Report Graphic
2024 Apply Kansas Annual Report Slides
Map of 2024 Apply Kansas schools
2024 Apply Kansas schools
In 2024, 261 schools offered an Apply Kansas event, representing 253 of the state's 286 school districts.
| School Name | School Name | School Name |
| Altoona Midway High School | Hayden Catholic High School | Remington High School |
| Andale High School | Hays High School | Republic County Junior Senior High School |
| Andover Central High School | Haysville Campus High School | Riley County High School |
| Andover High School | Hesston High School | Riverton High School |
| Argonia High School | Hiawatha High School | Rock Creek High School |
| Arkansas City High School | Highland Park High School | Rolla High School |
| Ashland High School | Hillsboro Middle High School | Rossville High School |
| Atchison High School | Hodgeman County High School | Royal Valley High School |
| Attica High School | Hoisington High School | Russell Jr-Sr High School |
| Augusta High School | Holcomb High School | Sabetha High School |
| Axtell HIgh School | Holton High School | Salina High School Central |
| Baldwin High School | Hope High School | Salina South High School |
| Basehor Linwood High School | Hoxie High School | Santa Fe Trail High School |
| Beloit Jr./Sr. High School | Hugoton High School | Satanta Jr/Sr High School |
| Bishop Carroll Catholic High School | Humboldt High School | Scott Community High School |
| Blue Valley Academy | Ingalls High School | Seaman High School |
| Blue Valley High School | Inman High School | Sedan High School |
| Blue Valley North High School | Iola High School | Sedgwick High School |
| Blue Valley Northwest High School | Jackson Heights High School | Shawnee Heights High School |
| Blue Valley West High School | JC Harmon High School | Shawnee Mission North |
| Bonner Springs High School | Jefferson West High School | Shawnee Mission Northwest High School |
| Bucklin High School | Kansas Connections Academy | Shawnee Mission South High School |
| Burlingame High School | Kingman High School | Shawnee Mission West |
| Burlington High School | Kinsley High School | Silver Lake High School |
| Caldwell High School | Kiowa County High School | Skyline High School |
| Caney Valley High School | La Crosse High School | Smith Center Jr/Sr High School |
| Cedar Vale High School | Labette County High School | Smoky Valley High School |
| Central Heights High School | lakeside jr/sr high school | Solomon High School |
| Central Jr/Sr High School | Lakin High School | South Central High School |
| Central Plains | Larned High School | South Gray High School |
| Centralia High School | Leavenworth High School | Southeast High School |
| Chanute High School | Lebo High School | Southeast of Saline High School |
| Chaparral High School | Liberal High School | Southern Coffey County |
| Chase County Jr/Sr High School | Linn High School | Southwestern Heights High School |
| Chase High School | Little River High School | Spearville High School |
| Chetopa High School | Logan High School | Spring Hill High School |
| Cheylin High School | Lyndon High School | St. Francis Junior/Senior High School |
| Cimarron High School | Lyons High School | St. John High School |
| Circle High School | Macksville High School | St. John's Catholic High School |
| Clay Center Community High School | Madison USD 386 High School | St. Mary's Colgan High School |
| Clearwater High School | Maize High School | St. Marys High School |
| Clifton-Clyde High School | Maize South High School | St. Thomas Aquinas High School |
| Colby High School | Manhattan High School | Stafford High School |
| Concordia High School | Marais des Cygnes Valley | Stanton County High School |
| Conway Springs High School | Marion High School | Sterling High School |
| Council Grove | Maris des Cygnes Valley High School | Stockton High School |
| Crest High School | Marysville Jr/Sr High School | Sublette High School |
| Decatur Community High School | Maur Hill - Mount Academy | Sumner Academy High School |
| Deerfield High School | McPherson High School | Tescott High School |
| Derby High School | Meade High School | Thomas More Prep-Marian High School |
| Dexter High School | Mill Valley High School | Thunder Ridge High School |
| Dighton High School | Minneapolis High School | Topeka High School |
| Dodge City High School | Minneola High School | Topeka West High School |
| Dodge City High School (STRIDE) | Mission Valley Jr/Sr High School | Trinity Catholic High School |
| Doniphan West High School | Moscow High School | Troy High School |
| Douglass High School | Moundridge High School | Turner High School |
| Eisenhower High School | Mulvane High School | Udall High School |
| El Dorado High School | Nemaha Central High School | Ulysses High School |
| Ell Saline High School | Neodesha High School | Uniontown High School |
| Ellinwood High School | Ness City High School | Valley Center High School |
| Ellis High School | Newton High School | Valley Falls High School |
| Ellsworth High School | Nickerson High School | Valley Heights High School |
| Emporia High School | Northeast High School | Victoria High School |
| Erie High School | Northeast Magnet | Wakefield High School |
| Eureka High School | Norton Community High School | Wallace County High School |
| Fairfield High School | Olathe East High School | Wamego High School |
| Field Kindley High School | Olathe North High School | Washburn Rural High School |
| FL Schlagle High School | Olathe Northwest High School | Washington County High School |
| Flinthills High School | Olathe South High School | Washington High School |
| Fort Scott High School | Onaga High School | Waverly High School |
| Frederic Remington High School | Osage City High School | Wellington High School |
| Fredonia Junior Senior High School | Osawatomie High School | Wellsville High School |
| Frontenac High School | Osborne High School | West Elk High School |
| Galena High School | Oskaloosa High School | West Franklin High School |
| Garden City Achieve | Oswego Jr./Sr. High School | Western Plains High School |
| Garden City High School | Ottawa High School | Wheatland High School |
| Garden Plain High School | Oxford High School | White City High School |
| Gardner-Edgerton High School | Paola High School | Wichita Alternative High School |
| Girard High School | Parsons High School | Wichita County Jr/Sr High School |
| Goddard High School | Peabody-Burns Jr/Sr High School | Wichita High School East High School |
| Golden Plains High School | Phillipsburg High School | Wichita High School Heights High School |
| Goodland High School | Pike Valley High School | Wichita High School North High School |
| Great Bend High School | Piper High School | Wichita Northwest High School |
| Greeley County High School | Plainville High School | Wichita South High School |
| Greenbush Virtual Academy | Pratt High School | Winfield High School |
| Halstead High School | Pretty Prairie High School | Wyandotte High School |
| Hanover High School | Quinter High School | Yates Center High School |
Plan your Apply Kansas event
1. Reserve computer labs, library, or classrooms/facilities for your event.
2. Post Banners to remind students that event will occur.
3. Recruit Volunteers - Could be teachers or college admission staff.
4. Prepare Students for the Event.
#1: Encourage your seniors to identify 2-3 colleges or postsecondary programs they would like to apply to. You could require students to complete some or all of these options.
- Attend a College Fair (either virtual or in-person)
- Use a college search tool: Xello, Big Future, Naviance, KS degreestats, Encourage, etc.
- Complete College Fit Worksheet
- Visit a college campus
#2: Once they’ve identified some colleges, have seniors complete the College Application Checklist, to prepare personal information they may need to complete their college application on the day of the event
5. Apply Kansas Event Day!
- Complete College Applications
- Request Transcripts
- Submit fee waivers (when applicable)
- Students complete a sign out survey (Examples: Online, Paper #1, Paper #2)
-
Reporting your Apply Kansas Event data is the only requirement of participating in this program. At a minimum you’ll need to submit the following information to us at the conclusion of your event:
- Number of seniors who submitted an application
- Total Number of college applications submitted
- Number of KS Public Colleges receiving applications
-
- Social Media Blitz! Post pictures with an Apply Kansas banner listing the colleges they applied when finished
6. Submit your Apply Kansas site data to Apply Kansas by December 1st.
- This submission qualifies you to receive All Star High School recognition.
7. Follow up with FAFSA completion instructions/events & Financial Aid resources
- To see your high school's individual student FAFSA submission list, please fill out the attachment and send your request to Linda Oldham Burns
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
8. Incentivize seniors completing all 4 tasks. Certificate? Prizes? Apply Kansas Swag?
2025 apply kansas Training Schedule
In-person training locations will include opportunities to share ideas and a campus tour with updates from the institution.
| Training Location | Date | Time |
| TBD | ||
| Alvin E. Morris Administrative Center (Wichita) | Thursday, August 7 | 8:30am |
| Labette Community College (Parsons) | Tuesday, August 26 | 9am |
| (Hays) | ||
| (Fredonia) | ||
| (Topeka) | ||
| (Sublette) | ||
| (Howard) |
WHY APPLY Day: Friday, September 19, 2025
Check out this video made by students in Shawnee Heights High School. The students in the Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) program asked their teachers to fill out the selfie page on why students should apply to college and collected all their responses in this video .
Create your own "Why Apply" selfie page (pdf) and post your picture on any social media outlet tagging: #applyks #whyapply
FAQ
When is the campaign?
The Apply Kansas campaign is held annually between September - November. Your high school can pick a day (or multiple days) during the fall months to conduct an event. Many schools plan around the Kansas Apply Free Days or around the month of October which is the states "College Application Month".
How do I register my school?
Click here to complete a short registration form.
Are community organizations allowed to hold an event?
Absolutely! All events are welcome to support seniors with their post-secondary plans. Register here!
Should I register if my school is small or if we host a similar event?
YES! Register your school for Apply Kansas even if you are currently conducting a program or your school is small. Tracking state-wide participation helps evaluate the impact Kansas schools have on their students. Team up with a participating neighboring school or district. See below list of Apply Kansas participating high schools for 2024.
What’s involved in conducting an event?
Your school’s site coordinator will select the date, reserve a computer lab, secure volunteers, and report campaign results. Apply Kansas & KBOR provide free resources to help with the planning process (see links above on the right) You know what your students will respond to better than anyone, so as long as you can get us your summary data, we’ll support you with resources and anything else you need to have a successful event
Is there training to help us get started?
YES! We are scheduling in-person training & virtual training sessions. Dates and locations will be listed on this page. The virtual session will also have registration and be open for you to interact with other participants virtually. We will also record the virtual session for anyone who is unable to fit any of the trainings into their schedule. All sessions will contain the same information, so you just need to pick one date. Training sessions will give you the opportunity to see all the resources available to you, meet other Apply Kansas coordinators, and understand the best way to gather your summary data at the end of your event.
Apply Kansas Training: Starting in 2022, we combined Apply Kansas Training with a counselor college event! Site Coordinators will spend the first half of the training learning about the Apply Kansas program, picking up their swag items, and interacting with other site coordinators. Then, following the training, site coordinators will review information about the host institutions and be able to attend a walking tour of the campus. Each year, we will select different institutions across the state to host our Apply Kanas training events. All training sessions are in person unless specifically noted below.
Can virtual students and schools participate?
Absolutely! We want to support all students and schools. Team up with a public library or community organization to offer an in person event or hold a virtual event!
--------------------------------------------------
Questions?
Contact Mistie Knox (785) 430-4279
Follow Apply Kansas on social media!
