KU is a fantastic school and I was really close to going there, but ended up getting accepted to a different pharmacy school. Yes I go to their rival Mizzou, but have only had great experiences with KU. They have a good nursing school and they got 5th at UCA nationals this year. Their cheer coach Cory is so nice and their program truly is a family. Plus their basketball team is amazing and there is nothing like a game at Allen Fieldhouse! I also have several friends in sororities there and have heard great things about their Greek system.
I know quite a few people at KSU also and they all like it, but their cheerleading is more game oriented. They take many more girls than KU because they have all girl and coed squads, but KU only has coed. It's all a matter of personal preference and what you are looking for.
Since you are considering schools in this area, I might as well throw in some info about Mizzou :) I absolutely love it here! Columbia is the perfect college town and I feel like I'm getting a really great education. One of my roommates is in nursing school here and she really likes it. It's super competitive (average GPA was 3.85 this year for accepted students, but my roommate is really involved on campus and got in with a 3.6), but I'm sure all nursing schools are this way! We have strong football and basketball programs so games are always fun. Cheer usually has about 50 girls, 16 of which make mat since they compete NCA small coed. If you are interested in super-senioring Capitol City is 30 minutes away and their small AG went to worlds on a full paid bid last year. Tons of people from Texas (especially the DFW area) come to mizzou and love it so don't worry about not having any southern friends here haha :) I hope this answers some of your questions and if you have any questions about schools in the Midwest feel free to PM me!