College application season has arrived. Here's how to handle it.

AJ Raaska, Abilene Reflector-Chronicle, Kan.
·4 min read

Sep. 21—While graduation can feel years away for high school seniors and juniors, the college application season just started with students across the country making the difficult decision of "What do I want to do after high school?" Parents and students both struggle with it.

But sorting through the facts and knowing the options can help both get a handle on it.

Statistics for after high school:

College and Trade Routes

The Kansas Board of Regents looks over six state universities, one municipal university, 19 community colleges and six technical colleges. The board's job over sees and evaluate the administration of high education by public schools.

In 2020, Kansas Board of Regents awarded it's graduating students with 13% Short-term certificates, 11% certificates, 22% associate degrees, 37% Bachelor's degrees, 13% Master's degrees and 3% Doctoral degrees.

In 2020, Kansas Board of Regents had 238,000 students enroll in their schools with 64% full time and 36% part time status.

The biggest age group to enroll in high education for 2020 are 20 to 24 years old and 55% of the enrollment population are females.

According to College Board, the Kansas universities with the top graduation rates include University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Baker University, Benedictine College and Bethany College.

Military Route

According to the Office of Defense, in 2018 the U.S. Military had 1.3 million active duty members with 35% Army, 24% Navy, 24% Air Force, 14% Marine Corps and 3% Coast Guard. The number does not include people enlisted with the National Guard.

In Kansas, the Army National Guard has more than 5,200 authorized soldiers within the state.

How to apply

Colleges and trade schools

Using University of Kansas as an example, an in-state freshman must meet these deadlines for their application.

November 1 for early action application

December 1 for freshman scholarships

February 1 for FAFSA priority

For KU students are eligible for assured admission into their College of Liberal Arts & Sciences or School of Social Welfare if they either: have a 3.25 GPA, no test scores required or ACT score of at least 21 and/or SAT score of at least 1060 plus a GPA of at least 2.0.

The application must include a list of senior year courses, self-reported grades & GPA and the $40 fee for applying to university.

Using Salina Technical College as an example, students can fill an online application to apply for the next term's classes, currently people can apply for their Spring 2022 Technical Programs and general education courses. The college works on an open admission policy where they only require students to apply with a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Military

For those students wanting to enlist after high school, they must visit a local recruiters' office and start preparing for the aptitude test.

As an U.S. citizen with a high school diploma or GED, they can enlist until they are 31 years old for Coast Guard, 28 years old for Marines, 39 years old for Navy, 34 years old Army and 39 for Air Force. Once the basic paperwork is completed, people must complete the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, which may limit what branch a person can join.

Following all the paperwork & tests, candidates must complete a military entrance medical exam, which evaluates hearing, vision, height and weight. Once all elements are completed, an accepted student must take the oath of enlistment and wait for their basic training orders.

Update on FAFSA

According to the Office of Federal Student Aid, the government did change the application process for 2022-2023 FAFSA.

The online application got a visual update

Users can select their role — student, parent or preparer — before enter the FAFSA form

For families who don't use IRS DRT, the Schedule 1 help topics will include all current exceptions for filing a Schedule 1. "Virtual Currency" will be removed from the exceptions

Drug convictions will no longer affect federal student aid eligibility, but students who select yes will need to fill out a worksheet that helps a student determine if their drug conviction should affect their ability to gain aid. Federal Student Aid does note that the worksheet answers should not affect a students' eligibility for funds.