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
2025 Apply Free Days Application Instructions
Site Coordinator Information & Resources
Promoting the Event
Apply Kansas Site Completion Survey Questions
2025 Kansas Admission Guide (links to applications for admission, financial aid departments, and scholarship dates)
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
2025 apply kansas Training Schedule
In-person training locations will include opportunities to share ideas and a campus tour with updates from the institution. A virtual training will be available after in person trainings have concluded.
| Training Location | City | Date | Time | Registration |
| Alvin E. Morris Administrative Center | Wichita | Thursday, August 7 | 8:30am - 11:30am | Register |
| Howard City Library | Howard | Friday, August 8 | 10am - 11:30am | Register |
| Southwest Plains Service Center | Sublette | Wednesday, August 13 | 8:30am - 1pm | Register |
| Labette Community College | Parsons | Tuesday, August 26 | 9am - 2pm | Register |
| Kansas State University Aerospace and Technology Campus | Salina | Wednesday, August 27 | 8:30am - 11:30am | Register |
| Fort Hays State University | Hays | Wednesday, September 3 | 8:30am - 11:30am | Register |
2025 Apply Kansas schools
In 2024, 261 schools offered an Apply Kansas event, representing 253 of the state's 286 school districts.
Updated 7/28/2025 at 3pm.
| High School | High School | High School |
| Alfred Fairfax Academy | Hamilton High School | Riverside High School |
| Altoona Midway High School | Hanover High School | Rock Creek High School |
| Andover Central High School | Hartford High School | Rolla High School |
| Andover Central High School | Haysville Campus High School | Rose Hill High School |
| Andover High School | Hesston High School | Rossville Jr/Sr High School |
| Arkansas City High School | Hiawatha High School | Royal Valley High School |
| Ashland High School | Hillsboro Middle High School | Russell Jr.-Sr. High School |
| Atchison County Community Jr/Sr High School | Hodgeman County High School | Sabetha High School |
| Atchison High School | Hoisington High School | Saint Francis Junior/Senior High School |
| Attica High School | Holcomb High School | Saint Thomas Aquinas High School |
| Augusta High School | Holton High School | Salina High School Central |
| Axtell High School | Hope High School | Salina South High School |
| Baldwin High School | Hoxie High School | Santa Fe Trail High School |
| Basehor Linwood High School | Hugoton High School | Satanta Jr/Sr High School |
| Beloit Jr./Sr. High School | Humboldt High School | Scott Community High School |
| Bishop Carroll Catholic High School | Humboldt High School | Seaman High School |
| Blue Valley Academy | Inman Jr/Sr High | Sedan High School |
| Blue Valley High School - Randolph | Jackson Heights High School | Sedgwick High School |
| Blue Valley North High School | JC Harmon High School | Shawnee Heights High School |
| Blue Valley West High School | Jefferson West High School | Shawnee Mission North High School |
| Bonner Springs High School | Kansas Connections Academy | Silver Lake High School |
| Brewster High School | Kingman Middle High School | Skyline High School |
| Bucklin High School | Kinsley High School | Smoky Valley High School |
| Burlingame Jr./Sr. High | Kiowa County High School | Solomon High School |
| Burlington High School | La Crosse High School | South Barber HS |
| Caney Valley High School | Labette County High School | South Central High School |
| Cedar Vale Schools | Lakin High School | South Gray High School |
| Central Heights High School | Larned High School | Southeast High School |
| Central Plains High School | Leavenworth High School | Southeast of Saline High School |
| Central School | Lebo High School | Southern Coffey County High School |
| Centralia High School | Liberal High School | Southwestern Heights High School |
| Chanute High School | Linn High School | Spearville High School |
| Chaparral High School | Little River High School | Spring Hill High School |
| Chase County Jr/Sr High School | Lyndon High School | St. James Academy |
| Chase High School | Lyons High School | St. John High School |
| Cheney High School | Macksville High School | St. Mary's Colgan High School |
| Cherryvale High School | Madison Virgil usd 386 | St. Marys High School |
| Cheylin USD 103 | Maize High School | Stafford High School |
| Cimarron High School | Maize South High School | Stanton County High School |
| Circle High School | Maize Virtual Preparatory School | Sterling High School |
| Clay Center Community High School | Marais des Cygnes Valley High School | Stockton High School |
| Clearwater High School | Marmaton Valley High School | Sublette High School |
| Clifton-Clyde High School | Marysville Jr/Sr High School | Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Colby High School | McPherson High School | Tescott High School |
| Concordia High School | Meade High School | Thomas More Prep-Marian |
| Conway Springs High School | Medicine Lodge High School | Thunder Ridge High School |
| Council Grove Jr Sr High School | Mill Valley High School | Tipton Catholic High School |
| Deerfield High School | Minneapolis High School | Tonganoxie High School |
| Derby High School | Minneola High School | Topeka High School |
| Dexter High School | Mission Valley Jr/Sr High School | Topeka West High School |
| Dighton High School | Moscow High School | Trinity Catholic High School |
| Dodge City High School | Moundridge High School | Troy High School |
| Doniphan West High School | Mulvane High School | Turner High School |
| Douglass High School | Nemaha Central High School | Udall High School |
| Education Imagine Academy | Neodesha High School | Ulysses High School |
| Eisenhower High School | Ness City Jr./Sr. High School | Uniontown High School |
| El Dorado High School | Newton High School | Valley Heights High School |
| Elk Valley High School | Nickerson High School | Victoria High School |
| Ell Saline High School | Northeast High School | Wakefield High School |
| Ellinwood High School | Northeast Magnet High School | Wallace County High School |
| Ellis Jr/Sr High School | Norton Community High School | Wamego High School |
| Ellsworth High School | Norwich High School | Washburn Rural High School |
| Emporia High School | Olathe South High School | Washington High School |
| Erie High School | Olathe West High School | Waverly High School |
| Eureka Jr Sr High School | Onaga Sr High School | Wellington High School |
| F L Schlagle High School | Osawatomie High School | Wellsville High School |
| Fairfield High School | Oskaloosa High School | West Elk High School |
| Flinthills High School | Oswego High School | West Franklin High School |
| Fort Scott High School | Ottawa High School | Western Plains High School |
| Frankfort High School | Oxford High School | Western Plains High School |
| Frederic Remington High School | Paola High School | Wheatland High School |
| Fredonia Junior Senior High School | Parsons High School | White City High School |
| Frontenac High School | Peabody-Burns Jr/Sr High School | Wichita Alternative High School (Chester Lewis) |
| Garden City Achieve | Perry Lecompton High School | Wichita County Jr/Sr High School |
| Garden Plain High School | Phillipsburg High School | Wichita Heights High School |
| Girard High School | Pike Valley High School | Wichita High School East |
| Golden Plains High School | Piper High School | Wichita High School North |
| Goodland High School | Pleasant Ridge High School | Wichita High School South |
| Great Bend High School | Pratt High School | Wichita Southeast High School |
| Greeley County High School | Quinter High School | Wyandotte High School |
| Greenbush Virtual Academy | Rawlins County High School | Yates Center High School |
| Halstead High School | Riley County 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)
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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
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- 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
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Kansas school districts are able to see your individual high school students FAFSA through the FAFSA Completion Project. Each district submits a request for access, and the designated district contact is responsible for distributing the data to individual schools. The process is outlined on the FAFSA Resources page.
8. Incentivize seniors completing all 4 tasks. Certificate? Prizes? Apply Kansas Swag?
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 an application completion event held annually between September - November. Your high school can pick a day (or multiple days) during the fall months to conduct an event. Some schools charge application fees, while others do not. Check out the Apply Free Days page for more information. Many schools plan their event around the Kansas Apply Free Days or around the month of October which is the state's "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. Get in touch with the State Coordinator to register.
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 and KBOR provide free resources to help with the planning process (see links above). You know what your students need most, 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 and 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, most Apply Kansas Trainings are combined 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!
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Questions?
Contact Mistie Knox (785) 430-4279
Follow Apply Kansas on social media!
