Tuition and Costs

The University of Kansas International Student Viewbook
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The AEC has received a very large number of applications for next fall.
For this reason, we cannot accept any more students for Fall 2008 (beginning in August).
You may apply for Spring 2009 (beginning in January). Please write to us for more information at aec@ku.edu

• Get your visa: If you plan to travel on an F-1 (student) visa, you should use the I-20 we send you to apply for a visa at the nearest US Consulate. When you apply for your student visa, you must give information about your finances. You must show that you have enough money for your entire time of study in the United States. In general, students are not permitted to work to earn money in the United States.

• Arrange for housing: Good housing in Lawrence is limited. It is important to plan for housing before you arrive in Lawrence. Several types of housing are available:
  • Residence halls: These halls are university-operated. They are for single students or those living in the U.S. without their families. The cost of living in a double room includes twenty meals per week. Contracts are for nine months and do not cover University vacation periods. If you plan to be here for only one semester, you may make special arrangements with the Office of Student Housing. Summer contracts also are available.
  • Scholarship halls: You also may apply to live in a University scholarship hall. Each hall has space for about fifty persons, and is located on campus. In a scholarship hall, students live cooperatively at a reduced rate in exchange for working a few hours a week in the hall. You do not need to have a scholarship to live in a scholarship hall. Contracts are for nine months. Space is limited in these halls, so applications must be received at least six months in advance.
  • Student family housing: Students and their families are eligible to live in Stouffer Place, university apartments for married students, if the student plans to continue at KU for a degree after English training. Space is limited, so apply as soon as possible. You may be placed on a waiting list.

    For more information about on-campus housing, write to:
    Department of Student Housing
    422 West 11th Street, Suite DSH
    Lawrence, KS 66045-8100 USA
    Email: housing@ku.edu
    Website: www.housing.ku.edu

  • Private housing: If you want to live off-campus in a privately owned apartment, you must arrive several days early to look for housing. When you arrive, the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Room 2 Strong Hall, will give you information about suitable housing.

• Make travel plans.

• Arrange your flight to Kansas City International Airport (KCI). You will see "MCI", the airlines' names for this airport, on your tickets and baggage claims. KCI is about sixty miles from Lawrence.

  We cannot meet you at Kansas City International Airport. If you participate in Orientation, the Orientation organizers will help you travel from KCI to Lawrence.

  If you need help, call the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (1-785-864-3617) Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., U.S. Central Time Zone.

• Arrange shuttle transportation from KCI to Lawrence, Kansas.
  You should use a shuttle to travel from KCI to Lawrence. Do not use a taxi - it is very expensive! There is only one shuttle company offering service between KCI and Lawrence. GTI Transportation will pick you up at your airline terminal and take you to your Lawrence residence. The company, GTI, charges $40.00 for a reserved, one-way shuttle.

  GTI Transportation Telephone: 785.838.4500 Toll Free: 888.467.3729 Fax: 785.865.5121

• When you arrive in Lawrence:
  During the day (8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday) call a taxicab (Telephone: 842-8294) to take you to Strong Hall, University of Kansas campus. Take your luggage to Room 2, the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.

  If you need help from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, call 864-3617. You must speak English.

  After 5:00 p.m. or on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays, you should stay at a motel near campus. The shuttle driver or the taxi driver will know which motels are near campus.

• Where to stay
  
  • If you are attending ISSS Orientation…
    
  • If you have a residence hall contract, but are not attending ISSS Orientation…
    
  • If you plan to live off campus…

• Check in at the Applied English Center, Room 204 Lippincott Hall and International Students and Scholar Services, Room 2 Strong Hall as soon as possible on a weekday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. You will make an appointment for the English proficiency test and receive information about the AEC and the university.

• Health care and health insurance. Health care is very expensive in the United States. There is no government health plan. International students should always buy health insurance to cover their trip and their stay in the U.S. You may buy international health insurance or special student health insurance after you arrive in Lawrence.

  Health insurance is required. The cost will be approximately $40 each month. Insurance costs will be paid when tuition is paid. If you have health insurance from another source, you must bring information, in English, about this policy.

  As a student at the Applied English Center, you can go to the Watkins Health Center on campus for minor health problems. Visits to the doctors and nurses are free. However, you must pay for medicine, x-rays, and most lab work.

  If you have major health problems, Watkins Health Center cannot treat you. You must go to a private doctor. Watkins Health Center cannot treat eye problems, dental problems or prescribe glasses. You must go to a private dentist or eye doctor.

• Clothing and weather
  Lawrence has four distinct seasons. You will need clothing for hot, warm and cold weather. The average rainfall in Lawrence is about 30 inches (76.2 cm.) per year. The summers (June through September) are usually quite warm, with average daily temperatures of 85 to 100 degrees F (30 to 40 degrees C). The nights are cooler. During the winter (October through February) the coldest daytime temperatures range from 5 to 24 degrees F (-15 to -5 degrees C).

  Clothing should be chosen for comfort and good wearing quality. Students dress informally on campus. Women wear dresses, or blouses and sweaters with skirts, slacks, or jeans. Men prefer sport shirts with sweaters or jackets, and slacks or jeans. Most students wear low-heeled walking or athletic shoes, and boots in winter.

• Money
  There are many difficulties in transferring funds from other nations to the United States. Please learn about your government's regulations on sending money. You will need the necessary funds in dollars at the beginning of each semester or session and at regular intervals throughout your stay here. You may pay the total University tuition amount at the beginning of each semester or by installment.

  Because it is often difficult to cash personal checks soon after arrival, we suggest that you bring cashier's checks and/or travelers' checks in U.S. dollars. You may pay many of your expenses by credit card.

  If you do not carry any U.S. dollars with you from your country, you should exchange your money or some of your travelers' checks for U.S. dollars. You must exchange your money in a port city such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, etc. Kansas City International Airport does not have a money exchange office.

  If you are being sponsored by an organization, your government, or a university, a letter of financial guarantee from your sponsor will be required at the beginning of each term. Please ask your sponsor to send the letter to the AEC or bring it with you when you arrive.

• Vacations
  University vacations take place throughout the academic year.
  • The first Fall holiday is Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
  • Next is Fall Break, a two day vacation in late October.
  • The last break in the fall is Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November.
  • The winter vacation begins in late December and lasts until mid-January.
  • The first holiday of the spring is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is the third Monday in January.
  • The next vacation is the week of spring break in March.
  • There are also vacation periods of about three weeks' length before and after the summer session in May and August. Most university residence halls are closed during vacations.

• * International Student and Scholar Services
  ISSS offers advice and assistance to International students and scholars coming to KU. See the ISSS Main Page for an extensive collection of information especially for international students, including undergraduate and graduate admission to KU. See their orientation page for information about their special orientation program for International students,and also see the International Student Pre-Arrival Information page for "Things to Know Before Coming to the United States".

• * The University of Kansas International Student Viewbook

For information about applying to an academic degree program at the University of Kansas, see Undergraduate Admissions or Graduate Admissions .

The United States Information Service has offices around the world which help students coming to study in the USA. Contact the office near you for assistance.

Copyright © 2007 The University of Kansas, Applied English Center. All rights reserved. Permission to copy and use information contained in this page is hereby granted provided that this notice and appropriate attribution (if applicable) are placed on all copies, and information is used for non-profit purposes only. You can reach us by phone at 1-785-864-4606 or by e-mail at aec@ku.edu. Photographs within this site © The University of Kansas Office of University Relations.

Page most recently modified October 29, 2007.