Our Kansas Commitment

If you meet the following criteria, you automatically qualify for the Kansas Commitment:

• Kansas resident
• Full-time, first-time incoming freshman at the University of Kansas that intends to enroll in an on-campus, undergraduate program at the Lawrence/Edwards campus
• Apply for admission to KU by December 1
• 3.25 cumulative high school GPA at the time of admission
• Submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to KU by February 1 every year
• Family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $75,000 or less
• Meet minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards

The Kansas Commitment is automatically offered to eligible students who meet all qualifications, deadlines, and have submitted a FAFSA by February 1. There is no separate application for the Kansas Commitment.

Students with a family AGI of $75,000 or less qualify for the Kansas Commitment. Family AGI is defined as the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as reflected on the FAFSA. 

For dependent students, family income will be measured as their parents' AGI as listed on the FAFSA.

For independent students, family income will be measured as the student's AGI (plus spouse's AGI, if applicable) as listed on the FAFSA. 

Yes. The Kansas Commitment is based on both incomes combined, except in cases of divorce or separation. It does not matter whether taxes are filed as married, filing jointly or married, filing separately—both incomes are reported on the FAFSA.

In certain circumstances, changes to income can be considered. If your family's AGI has changed since the tax year currently reported on your FAFSA, contact your financial aid counselor to start an SAI appeal.

For consideration for the Kansas Commitment, an SAI appeal and all supporting documentation must be submitted by the 30th calendar day after the first day of classes during your first semester at the University of Kansas. SAI appeals submitted after this date can still be considered for financial aid, but will not be considered for the Kansas Commitment.

You must be an incoming freshman to be considered for the Kansas Commitment. 

If your family's AGI is over $75,000, then you would not be eligible for the Kansas Commitment. However, there are other financial aid options! Students are strongly encouraged to submit the FAFSA and apply for scholarships.

We also encourage you to fill out our Net Price Calculator to help estimate your financial aid offer. 

The definition of a Kansas resident, for purposes of the Kansas Commitment, is based upon your resident tuition classification as determined by the University. Generally, if you (or your parents, if you are a minor) have lived in Kansas more than one year (12 months), you have not been enrolled at a state university during that time, and you intend to stay in Kansas indefinitely, you will be considered a resident for tuition and fee purposes as well as the purposes of Kansas Commitment. 

The following residency categories also qualify for Kansas Commitment:

• Divorced Parent Clause
• Haskell Residency
• Indigenous Peoples Residency
• Kansas High School Graduates Application

If you are not considered a Kansas resident as defined above, you are not eligible for the Kansas Commitment. Contact the Office of the University Registrar if you have questions about your residency status. 

If you are not yet a Kansas resident but are applying for Kansas residency, you may still be considered for the Kansas Commitment if you obtain Kansas resident status during your first semester at the University of Kansas. To be considered, you must submit a residency application within 30 calendar days of the first day of classes for the term in which you are seeking residency. 

Students who become Kansas residents after their first semester are not eligible for the Kansas Commitment. Students who lose Kansas resident status will no longer qualify for the Kansas Commitment in future semesters, though they may still be eligible for other forms of financial aid. 

Contact the Office of the University Registrar if you have questions about your residency status. 

No, non-Kansas residents do not qualify. The Kansas Commitment is designed for University of Kansas undergraduate students who are Kansas residents. 

No, transfer students do not qualify for the Kansas Commitment.

However, transfer students may be eligible for KU Transfer scholarships, as well as grants, scholarships, and work-study. 

No, graduate students do not qualify for the Kansas Commitment.

However, graduate students may qualify for other funding opportunities. 

Because the Kansas Commitment is applied for an entire academic year, if you don’t start in the fall, there is not a guarantee you will receive the Kansas Commitment.  To qualify for the Kansas Commitment, you must meet all applicable deadlines—which includes applying for admission by December 1 and filing the FAFSA by February 1.

Students who begin in the spring may still be offered grants and scholarships, but may not receive an amount that covers full tuition.

If you are an incoming freshman that has met all qualifications and deadlines and you originally applied to start in the fall, but you have decided to defer your admission to the spring semester, you will still be eligible for the Kansas Commitment. 

Reach out to your financial aid counselor for more details. 

If you qualify for the Kansas Commitment as an incoming freshman and originally applied to begin classes in the fall semester, you will remain eligible if you defer your admission to the spring semester.

If you defer your admission for an entire year, we will re-review your eligibility based on your FAFSA information for that academic year - you must still file the FAFSA by February 1.

For questions about your eligibility, contact your financial aid counselor.

If you are eligible, the Kansas Commitment will cover undergraduate base tuition and required student/wellness fees for up to 30 credit hours per academic year (up to 15 credit hours per semester). Eligible students can receive the Kansas Commitment for up to eight (8) consecutive semesters (4 years) of undergraduate study, or upon graduation with a first bachelor’s degree, whichever occurs first.

The Kansas Commitment will cover these tuition and fee costs through a combination of grants and scholarships.

This is a commitment made by KU to cover base tuition expenses and required student/wellness fees.  The commitment does not cover additional costs including application fees, new student fees, enrollment fees, college/school/course fees, books, housing, food, or transportation.

The Kansas Commitment is not applicable during the summer semester.

All grants and Freshmen merit scholarships are included in your Kansas commitment. This includes federal, state, and institutional grants, such as any Federal Pell Grant, opportunity grant, Kansas Comprehensive Grant, and/or the Jayhawk Access Grant.

You may not see a specific line item called the “Kansas Commitment” on your financial aid offer. Instead, the Kansas Commitment is a promise that the combination of grants and institutional scholarships will cover tuition for 15 credit hours, 30 credit hours per academic year and the required student/wellness fees each semester .

Please note, the Kansas Commitment does not include scholarships from outside/private scholarship donors.

You need to be enrolled full-time at KU (a minimum of 12 KU credit hours per fall/spring semester) to qualify. The Kansas commitment guarantees that you will receive grants and scholarships to cover 30 credit hours per academic year, 15 credit hours per semester (fall/spring).

You are welcome to take more than 15 credit hours per semester, but the Kansas commitment only guarantees enough scholarships and grants for up to 15 credit hours per semester, 30 credit hours per academic year.

The Kansas Commitment is not applicable during the summer semester.

All students have tuition charges assessed to their KU student billing account. Recipients of the Kansas Commitment will still see tuition charges assessed on their KU account.

The Kansas Commitment is a promise that guarantees enough scholarships and grants to cover tuition charges for students who qualify. The Kansas commitment fulfills actual base tuition and required student/wellness fee charges for up to 15 credit hours per semester, 30 credit hours per academic year. The Kansas Commitment is not applicable during the summer semester.

No, the Kansas Commitment is not applicable during the summer semester.

The commitment is for undergraduate students pursuing their first undergraduate degree.

To continue to qualify for the Kansas Commitment you must meet all of the following criteria:

• File a FAFSA each year by February 1
• Remain a full-time (12 credit hours or more) undergraduate student at the Lawrence/Edwards campus
• Meet minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards (including maintaining a 2.0 cumulative KU GPA)
• Continue to have a family income of $75,000 or less (AGI)

Eligible students can receive the Kansas Commitment for up to eight (8) consecutive semesters (4 years) of undergraduate study, or upon graduation with a first bachelor’s degree, whichever occurs first.

For questions about your eligibility, contact your financial aid counselor.

You must file a FAFSA by February 1 each year to be eligible for the Kansas Commitment.

To continue to qualify for the Kansas Commitment you must meet all of the following criteria:

• File a FAFSA each year by February 1
• Remain a full-time (12 credit hours or more) undergraduate student at the Lawrence/Edwards campus
• Meet minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards (including maintaining a 2.0 cumulative KU GPA)
• Continue to have a family income of $75,000 or less (AGI)

Eligible students can receive the Kansas Commitment for up to eight (8) consecutive semesters (4 years) of undergraduate study, or upon graduation with a first bachelor’s degree, whichever occurs first.

For questions about your eligibility, contact your financial aid counselor.

Students must meet minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards to qualify for the Kansas Commitment. If a student does not meet minimum SAP requirements, the student will either need an approved SAP appeal or must meet the SAP requirements before any financial aid is received for subsequent terms.

These are the minimum SAP standards for undergraduate students:

• Maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative KU GPA, with the exception of pharmacy students who must maintain a 2.5 cumulative KU GPA
• Successfully complete a minimum of 67% of all credit hours attempted. Your completion rate is calculated by dividing the total number of successfully completed credit hours by the number of attempted credit hours. All credit hours within your career will be evaluated.
• Complete your undergraduate degree within 180 attempted credit hours. The maximum hour limit includes credit hours attempted at KU, hours that have successfully transferred from any other postsecondary institution, and test credits, regardless of whether you received financial aid for any/all of those credit hours.

For questions about your eligibility, contact your financial aid counselor.

Yes - to qualify for the Kansas Commitment, you must be enrolled full-time (at least 12 credit hours or more for fall/spring) as an undergraduate student at the Lawrence/Edwards campus.

For questions about your eligibility, contact your financial aid counselor.

The Kansas commitment expires when a student has completed eight (8) consecutive semesters (4 years) of undergraduate study, or upon graduation with a first bachelor’s degree, whichever occurs first.

However, there may be other financial aid options. Students are strongly encouraged to submit the FAFSA and apply for scholarships.

For questions about your eligibility, contact your financial aid counselor.