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Active Duty Commissioning

See what distinguishes KU as your active duty commissioning institution (MECEP/STA-21).

For You:

  • No application fees for active duty military.
  • No SAT/ACT required for active duty military.
  • Rolling admissions, meaning you can apply at any time.
  • A 2019 Top-5 Military Times and 2019 Top-3 Military Friendly Schools veteran-friendly campus. 
  • 5% of the undergrad population is active duty, veteran, reserve, or an immediate dependent of a military family.
  • Remodeled and expanding Military-Affiliated Student Center, complete with admissions assistance and a highly professional team that will assist you in maximizing your G.I. Bill usage and benefits.
  • Eligibility for a wealth of practical, applied majors in business, science, and the humanities from a first-rate, flagship research university.
  • KU boasts outstanding strategic language and culture programs due to its formal association with the US Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.
  • One of the very few NROTC units with its own, official USMC obstacle course.  We also have off-road endurance and woodland land navigation courses just off central campus.
  • A cohesive, close-knit NROTC unit that welcomes its active duty members as highly valued teachers, coaches, and mentors. The unit’s relatively small size provides abundant growth and mentorship opportunities on your path to commissioning.
  • KU boasts a 100% pass rate for Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program candidates during accession interviews with Naval Reactors in Washington, DC, for the past 5 years.
  • Significant recent investments to improve and build new engineering and science departments.

For Your Family:

  • Lawrence, KS, is 40 minutes west of downtown Kansas City, a metro area of nearly 1 million people, with all the sports, arts, entertainment, and conveniences that entails.
  • This is not the open prairie; the area is a wooded and temperate zone with all four seasons and outstanding sporting and outdoor opportunities in eastern Kansas and Missouri. 
  • The state capital, Topeka, is 20 minutes to the west on I-70.  The result, when combined with Kansas City to the east and Lawrence itself, is abundant opportunities for your spouse to find employment, or take advantage of Kansas colleges’ policy that dependents pay in-state tuition.
  • The cost of living and standard of living are terrific.  The BAH rate to the price of housing is very favorable in this area. 
  • Some of the best public elementary and middle schools in the state are in Lawrence.  KU hosts a terrific Child Development Center available at cost.
  • Access to military resources at Fort Leavenworth (one hour away) and Fort Riley (two hours away).
  • Our personnel qualify for Tricare Prime Remote, meaning you see civilian health providers for all of your medical needs.

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