About KAMS
What is the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science?
The Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science (KAMS), established by legislative action in 2006 by SB139, is the state’s premier academic high school program for the state’s best and brightest high school students. Based in part after successful programs in Missouri and Texas, KAMS is a unique residential learning experience that provides exceptional high school juniors and seniors a potent blend of
- college-level instruction by PhD faculty;
- a high school diploma and 68 hours of college credit;
- the option to receive an associate’s degree upon graduation;
- hands-on research supervised by PhD scientists;
- leadership development and civic engagement opportunities;
- co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to develop the whole student;
- a safe campus and residential environment; and trained support staff.
KAMS has accepted & enrolled its first class of 26 Kansas juniors. We are currently recruiting our second class of students for enrollment in fall 2010. We anticipate that our second class will be comprised of 30 Kansas juniors and a number of International students. These exceptional Kansas students will represent urban, suburban, and rural communities from across the state. Prospective students must have completed at least two years of high school, or the equivalent, with distinction in mathematics or science. However, outstanding academic achievement is not the only criterion for acceptance. KAMS will select students based on drive, interest, maturity, stability, and personal and family commitment.
Why is KAMS important for Kansas?
- KAMS will add educational value for students, who might not be appropriately challenged in their local school, by providing access to Kansas’ exceptional post-secondary educational resources.
- KAMS will enhance the intellectual capital of the State of Kansas through its curricular and co-curricular focus on mathematics and science.
- KAMS will collaborate with other Kansas Regents universities to encourage graduates to complete their undergraduate education in state.
- KAMS will expose the state’s best and brightest high school students to Kansas business and industry leaders, cultivating relationships that may encourage students to join the Kansas workforce.
For more information about KAMS, see our website available here.
I am extremely excited about KAMS! This will be an awesome opportunity for Gifted high school students from the state of Kansas to enhance their intellects, social abilities, leadership potentials and maturity levels. There is no risk in this investment because student success is always a gain…..
I am a high school freshman attending Derby High School and from my point of view, I feel that this is an excellent program. I excel greatly in math and science and I hope that I get accepted into this program by the end of my sophomore year. It would be such an honor to be accepted for this oppurtunity of a life time.
When i recieved the brochure about KAMS I was actually considering going to SPAIN for a foriegn exchange year. I thought this was such an amazing oppurtunity that i changed my whole plan. I will apply to KAMS for the2010-2011 school year and hopefully be accepted. I am an incredibly excited with the thought that I could be one of the students at this amazing program.
Great, Kristina! We’ll look for your application in the coming months.
Hey, I was just curious…
How many people are you expecting to apply for the 2010-2011 year? I’m definitely applying & I’m just wondering how much competition there is going to be!
Hi Emily, It’s hard to say right now how many will apply. We had 48 applications last year & I’m sure we will have more this year. But, don’t worry about how many applications there might be this year. Just focus on making your application as strong as it can be!
Thanks! I’ll remember that!
How many people are going to be accepted?
We can accept up to 30 Kansas students and several International students in addition to the 30 from Kansas.
I have a qustion, am starting to look a the application for the 2010-2011 school year, one of the requests is that my counsler tells you how many absences I have. At my school each class I miss is one absence, so if i miss one day of school it counts as 4 absences where as at a different school it would only count as one, i want my application to be as good as it can be and this has me scared, do I really need to worry about it as much as I am?
Hi Kristina, We understand that each school has different attendance policies & that’s why we provide a space in the Official School Records Report for the school official to explain the attendance policy for each applicant’s school. When you give your school official the Official School Records Report, just ask them to be sure to explain that aspect of the attendance policy.
So, don’t worry! We had students with the same issue during the 2009-2010 application period. We just allowed students to explain their school’s policy & why they missed. But, that’s why we added the explanation section to the 2010-11 Application — to make it a bit easier.
Just focus on making your application great & don’t sweat the small stuff you can’t control!
Thanks alot. I was worried because, I just had braces put on my freshman year, there is about one appointment a month and they are not going to be taken off until January of this year i am also a diabetic and I have an appointment every three month. for every appointment I had i missed about one class and i was scared that that might be misconstrued for me not being dedicated or serious about school.
No problem! Have fun working on your application. We look forward to reviewing it!
Hi again, I was just wondering, if maybe on the forums page, you could maybe set up a forum page where students interested in KAMS can ask current KAMS students questions. I know that would be very helpful to me and maybe to several others considering KAMS. Thanks.
Hi Kristina: Actually, that’s what the Prospective Student Board is for on the KAMS Forum! If you post there, we’ll direct the KAMS students to your post, if they don’t notice it themselves.
You might also try asking on our FaceBook page. I know most of the KAMS students are fans & view it regularly too.
Hi, I play the violin and was just wondering, if I were to be accepted to KAMS, would I be able to join the Hays Symphony Orchestra, or the Western Kansas String Academy?
Hi Kristina,
We would certainly work with you so that you could continue to play. Of course, keep in mind that academics comes first at KAMS. As for joining those particular groups, we would have to see if their schedules fit your academic schedule. Hopefully, they would be willing to work with us. Or we would help you find connections within FHSU itself so that you could continue with the violin. Some current KAMS students play with the FHSU marching band. Others take private classes on a particular instrument. I’m sure your situation would not be much different.
Hello,
My name is Mary, I was just wondering if you have recieved any applications to KAMS. And also how many students are you expecting to apply to KAMS, and how many will be excepted? I was just wondering. Thanks!!!
Hi Mary,
Yes, we received our first application about two weeks ago. We’re not certain how many will apply this year. We received around 50 complete applications last year & I would expect we will receive many more this year. We can accept 30 Kansas students to our second class.
Let us know if you have further questions.
Hello my name is TJ
so, what are like the main things you look for in an application. If your allowed to say, what are some of the more important things that really make a candidate stick out? THANK YOU
Hi TJ,
We do look closely at things like class rank, your GPA in the math, science, & technology courses you have taken, your ACT/SAT score. When looking at the specific aspects of the application, it is important for you to write the best essays that you can. Be clear about your interest in math & science. Be sure to write a complete essay — don’t be too brief. Also, ask your teachers to write a letter in support of the recommendation form. The form tells them a letter in addition would be helpful & they might be more inclined to write something if you ask them. We like to see students who have challenged themselves, both inside & outside the classroom. Make sure that comes out in your application.
If you have any further questions, please let us know. If you have a specific question, you can always email or call Dr. Bolte. Her information is on the Contact Us page of the KAMS website.
Hey, could you tell me like what is the average ACT score of the students who were accepted into KAMS. I took it for the first time and got a 24. Should i retake it and try to get a higher score or is 24 a good score? I was just wondering thanks
Last year the average composite ACT for students who accepted admission to KAMS was a 26. So, a 24 would be below average. It is your choice to retake the ACT, but you might consider doing so. There are two more ACT test dates before February.
what was the lowest ACT score of an accepted KAMS student and what was the highest
We are not releasing that precise information due to confidentiality issues. The average composite ACT score has been released to the press & is listed in one of the posts above.
How many applications for KAMS have been recieved so far
We have received several partial applications so far. I am not sure of the total number at this time.
Do we have to take the ACT before Feb.1 or can we take it later & send it in later too?
Last year we did allow students to be provisionally accepted with an ACT/SAT score taken after the application deadline. While we may accept students provisionally this year, we cannot guarantee this. We believe we will receive significantly more applications this year. So, it becomes more likely that a student with no qualifying ACT/SAT score yet & only an admissions ticket for a future test would be wait-listed or passed over in favor of an otherwise similar student with a qualifying ACT/SAT score.
This also depends on when we receive your qualifying ACT/SAT score. It will probably be safe to take the ACT on Feb 6, but you will need to have your scores sent to KAMS as soon as possible. I would suggest sending unofficial scores in yourself in addition to the official scores that you’ll have either ACT/SAT send directly to FHSU or your current high school send directly to KAMS. Just note that these are unofficial scores & let us know how we will be receiving your official scores.
We are really excited about Preview Day! We hope it will be a great day & we’ll learn alot about KAMS!