<p>Kansas from the perspective of a fairly small school in the northeast where all but a handful (okay, all except me) will end up at a state school or a community college. For the Johnson County/prep school perspective, you’d have to ask someone else.</p>
<p>PUBLIC:
University of Kansas (KU): huge. Located in the gorgeous town of Lawrence, known for being a blue patch in the Kansas sea of red. Almost everyone at my school who’s got decent grades ends up here. Athletic rivals include KState and Missouri. Pretty universally loved and supported by everyone in my area and considered the most elite of the Kansas schools - not that that’s saying much. Generous with scholarships to in-state residents with good test scores. The safety school for anyone intelligent enough to apply to good schools and get the heck out of Kansas.</p>
<p>Kansas State (KState)- Regarded as a good place to go for vet school or journalism. If you like KU, you almost always don’t like KState, and vice versa, hence the “House Divided” merchandise you’ll see in the area surrounding the two schools. I think KState is older than KU and maybe bigger, but most people in my area see it as the less attractive option. </p>
<p>Emporia State University: Many people have the misconception that Emporia’s private. It’s much much smaller than the other two and considered THE place to go for a teaching degree. More selective than KU or KState. People don’t talk about Emporia.</p>
<p>Fort Hays State University: All I know about Fort Hays is that they’ll take you on grades/scores/rank, without considering your activities. I assume it’s a popular choice for western/central Kansans, because it’s in Hays, but I really have no idea.</p>
<p>Pittsburg State University: I’ve never known anyone who goes here. Smaller than KU and KState. Pretty sure no one at my school even knows this college exists.</p>
<p>Wichita State University: Good if you don’t like school and want to PARTY PARTY PARTY. (This might not be accurate, but that’s the reputation.)</p>
<p>Haskell Indian Nations University: Not really public - I think it might be federally controlled? It’s somewhere in the Lawrence area, and as far as I know, you can go there if you’re enrolled in a tribe. Well known if you’re Native American. Otherwise, not so much.</p>
<p>PRIVATE:</p>
<p>Baker University: A respectable choice if you want to go private. Few do.</p>
<p>McPherson College: Huh? Tiny. Might be a good school, but nobody knows.</p>
<p>Sterling College: I think it’s Christian. Also very small and nobody knows anything about it.</p>
<p>COMMUNITY COLLEGES:
There’s pretty many in Kansas, but the only ones people where I live know about are Johnson County Community College (JCCC) and Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). Pretty good as far as community colleges in Kansas go, but that doesn’t go far. You end up here if you screw up or your family’s finances go down the toilet. Even some very intelligent kids from my school had to go here because KU was too expensive. If you have to choose one, choose JCCC. </p>
<p>Oh yeah, and Butler County Community College. I was shocked out of my skin when the biggest slacker in senior year said they were going to Butler before I realized. If anyone tells you they’re going to Butler, they almost always mean BCCC, not Butler University.</p>