Admission to KU and other state universities soon to become more selective

Underclassmen, start hitting those ACT prep books.

Beginning with the class of 2015, Kansas regents universities will be tightening their admissions standards, and for the class of 2016, admission to the University of Kansas will be even tougher.

“These new standards will let students and parents know what sort of preparation is needed to be successful at a flagship research university,” Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a news release. “They’ll encourage students to strive for excellence in high school so that they’re ready when they arrive at KU.”

All six state universities will start using revised admissions standards for current high school sophomores. Under these, applicants must complete the Kansas Scholars Curriculum and any college credits taken in high school with at least a 2.0 GPA, AND:

get an ACT score of 21 or SAT score of 980 (CR + M); OR

graduate in the top third of their class.

In June, the Kansas Board of Regents approved KU’s proposal to further heighten its admissions standards for the school year of 2016-2017. Under the new criteria, KU’s automatic admissions system will require applicants to receive:

a 3.0 GPA in the Kansas Scholars Curriculum AND a 24 on the ACT (1090 on the SAT); OR

a 3.25 GPA in the Kansas Scholars Curriculum AND a 21 on the ACT (980 on the SAT).

The university hopes that by raising admissions standards, it can also raise retention and graduation rates. At present, approximately 80 percent of freshmen return to KU the next year, and only 60 percent of students graduate within six years.

“[W]e want to improve our retention and graduation rates,” Director of Admissions Lisa Kress said, “and the academic preparedness of the student.”

Currently, applicants to all Kansas regents universities qualify for automatic admission if they fulfill one or more of the following requirements:

receive, at minimum, a 2.0 GPA in the Kansas Scholars Curriculum; OR

score at least 21 on the ACT or 980 on the SAT; OR

rank in the top third of their graduating class.

“It’s both good and bad,” Free State guidance counselor Joel Frederick said of the new standards. “I think it’s good in that students will be better prepared for the rigors of KU. In other words, they’ll understand that when you get to KU it’s gonna be tough to be successful…Now, of course, the bad side of this is that there are some kids who don’t test particularly well and may have gotten motivated later on in their high school career, and they may have done fine at KU, but they won’t be able to.”

According to Kress, students who do not qualify for automatic admission may still be admitted by a special committee that will review other factors yet to be determined.

“There could be circumstances that prevented you from meeting an admission requirement,” Kress said. “So, let’s say in four years you don’t quite meet them: we still encourage you to apply. You may be admitted through that second path by review of the committee, and if you don’t, if you’re denied, you can still appeal the decision.”

If a student is not admitted by appeal, Kress and Frederick both suggest pursuing alternative education options, such as junior colleges, private state schools and other regents universities.

“There is certainly nothing wrong with starting at [junior college] and transferring to KU later,” Frederick said. “In fact, as expensive as the state universities are getting, the jucos are actually quite a bit more inexpensive, so that could actually help you in the long run financially.”

Frederick predicts that neither set of upcoming admissions standards will strongly affect the number of Free State students who are admitted to KU.