Is Kansas State University Worth It?

Kansas State gives you a solid financial return with a clear catch: your major decides almost everything. The median graduate earns $57,262 ten years out while carrying $21,250 in debt, so the typical outcome pays back what you borrow. A 70.5% graduation rate and 87% retention mean most people who start here finish, which is the single biggest factor in whether the debt turns into a degree or a dead weight.

Engineering is where the money is. Electrical engineering tops the list at over $71,000, with chemical and industrial engineering close behind. These fields feed into aerospace, energy, and agricultural manufacturing across Kansas and the wider Midwest, so the pay holds up regionally. Computer science pushes past $69,000. The debt loads in these programs run higher than the school median, but the salaries clear that gap fast.

The risk is that only the engineering and computing majors have published salary data here, and they all land in the high $60,000s to low $70,000s. If your interest is outside those fields, you have no earnings proof to lean on, and Kansas State is a large university with many programs that pay far less than its engineering wing. Pick a low-earning major and the same $17,883 sticker price becomes a much weaker deal.

The net price tiers reward lower-income families. If your family earns under $30,000, you pay about $10,742 a year. over $110,000, you pay roughly $21,843. That doubling means the school is a strong value if you qualify for need-based aid and a middling one if you pay near full price.

This school fits you if you are heading into engineering or computing, especially from a lower- or middle-income household. Look harder elsewhere if you plan a low-paying major and expect to borrow the full amount.