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Future Freshman Scholarships
The competitive cost at UCM, combined with financial aid opportunities prepares you for a prosperous future. Financial aid money is available from federal, state and institutional scholarships as well as private sources to help you and your family pay for the cost of attending college.
UCM has many financial assistance programs that can help you bring your total educational and living expenses well within reach. In fact, 98% of UCM undergrads* who file a FAFSA receive financial aid or other assistance.
*Domestic students
Fill Out Your FAFSA!
Filling out your FAFSA is one of the most important things you can do to get money for college. It’s your key to unlocking scholarships, grants and even work-study funding. Plus, it’s fast and free!
UCM FASFA Code: 002454
ContactStudent Financial Services - Scholarship Assistance Send written requests to: |
Freshman Red and Black Scholarship (Starting Fall 2026) |
Value: Per Year
| Cumulative High School GPA | Red & Black Scholarship | ACT Excellence Scholarship (27+ Superscore) |
| 3.75+ | $4,000 | $1,000 |
| 3.5 to 3.74 GPA | $3,000 | |
| 3.25 to 3.49 | $2,000 | |
| 3.0 to 3.24 | $1,500 |
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Up to eight (8) semesters of undergraduate study | Yes |
- Meet High School GPA requirement (weighted or unweighted which ever is higher)
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
- Available to students starting at UCM for Fall 2026 and beyond
- *Scholarships and criteria for Fall 2026 have changed. Applied before November 3 and have questions? Contact your .
- Up to (8) semesters
- 2.5 GPA Minimum
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
Mule Grant (Starting Fall 2026) |
Value: Covers any tuition and general fees remaining after federal, state, institutional and private/outside grants and scholarships have been applied.
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Up to eight (8) continuous semesters of undergraduate study | Yes, up to tuition and general fees cost. |
- <= $75,000 Income
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- FAFSA on File before state of Missouri FAFSA priority deadline (typically Feb 1)
- Missouri Resident
- Starting at UCM no later than 1 academic year after high school graduation.
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
- Criteria listed above is available for students starting UCM for Fall 2026 and beyond. For students starting prior to Fall 2026, please review criteria here.
- Up to (8) continuous semesters
- FAFSA on File before state of Missouri FAFSA priority deadline (typically Feb 1)
- Remain <=$75,000 Income
- Remain Missouri Resident
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
ACT Excellence Scholarship (Starting Fall 2026) |
Value: $1,000 per year
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Renewable 8 semesters total | Yes |
- Incoming freshman student
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Available to students starting at UCM for Fall 2026 and beyond
- Have a superscored ACT >= 27
Note: We will accept SAT scores and use the ACT equivalent for those
- Up to (8) semesters
- 2.5 GPA Minimum
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
Out-of-State Scholarship |
Value: 100% of non-resident fees
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Automatically renewed for students who maintain legal residence in area | Yes |
Eligibility Requirements
- Regularly-admitted (not on academic probation) undergraduate students whose permanent legal residence is located in one of the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming AND is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- Recipients of the UCM Out-of-State Scholarship may not also receive the Second Generation Grant, Non-Resident Fee Credit, Midwest Student Exchange Program, Non-Resident Scholar Award, non-resident fee portion of the UCM Educational Development Program, or other programs that cover all or partial non-resident fees.
- A credit equal to the non-resident portion of tuition fees will appear on the UCM account of UCM Out-of-State Scholarship recipients.
- Automatically renewed for students who maintain legal residence in one of the above states and aren't recipients of other programs that cover all or partial non-resident fees.
Out-of-State Visit Award (Starting Fall 2026) |
Value: $1,000 per year
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Yes | Yes |
- Incoming freshman student
- Must start at UCM the semester immediately following high school graduation or after a gap year
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Available to students starting at UCM for Fall 2026 and beyond
- Be a resident of any state other than Missouri
- Register for an on-campus visit through the Undergraduate Admissions Office before
March 31, and attend that event before May 1, of your Senior Year. The following visits are eligible for
the scholarship:
- Mule Day
- Multicultural Visit Day
- Discover Central Days
- Rock the Red Days
- Personalized Saturday Visits
- Personalized Daily Visit
- Provost Excellence
Note: To schedule a visit, see this page.
- Up to (8) semesters
- 2.5 GPA Minimum
- Be Enrolled Full Time (12+ Hours)
Dual Credit Scholarship |
Value: $1,000 per year ($500 per semester)
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Up to six (6) semesters of undergraduate study | Yes |
- Incoming freshman student who has taken at least one dual credit course with UCM
- Received at least a 3.0 GPA or higher in all UCM dual credit coursework
- Must enroll full-time (12 hours) each semester
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or eligible international student*
- Be a regularly-admitted freshman (not provisionally admitted)
- Student must maintain a 2.5 GPA or higher in all UCM coursework
- Must enroll full-time (12 hours) each semester
*Missouri state law prohibits the granting of state aid (including scholarships, in-state tuition, etc.) to any student with unlawful immigration status and/or DACA status.
Girl Scout Scholarship |
Value:
- Girl Scouts Daisies to Ambassadors scholarship - $500 one time.
- Gold Award Scholarship - $1,000 one time.
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| One time scholarship | Yes |
- Girls Scouts Daisies to Ambassadors Scholarship:
- Must be a member of the Girls Scouts who had recurring membership from Daisies to Seniors.
- Must be enrolled full-time as a first time freshman
- 3.0 GPA or higher
- Gold Award Scholarship:
- Must be enrolled full-time as a first time freshman
- Must be a Gold Award Certificate holder
- 3.0 GPA or higher
How to Receive
- Students will check a box through their student portal after they apply, letting us know they meet either of the scholarship requirements (or both as they can be combined).
KC Scholars Last Dollar Scholarship |
Value: Varies
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Renewable 10 semesters of undergraduate work | Yes |
- Qualify for the KC Traditional Scholars Scholarship
- Must fill out a FAFSA each year
- The requirements for the scholarship are a GPA of 2.0 or greater and filing the FAFSA of each academic year and complete verification, if required. A high school cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required and once Scholars are enrolled at UCM, they must maintain a cumulative overall GPA of 2.0 or greater each academic year to be eligible.
Midwest Exchange Program |
Value:
At UCM, non-Missouri residents are charged the in-state tuition rate plus a non-resident fee. The Midwest Student Exchange Program will provide 50% of the non-resident portion of the fees of qualifying students. Students are responsible for the remaining 50% of the non-resident portion of the fees plus the in-state tuition rate.
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Undergraduate course work |
- To be considered for participation in University of Central Missouri's Midwest Student Exchange Program (and pay 150% of University of Central Missouri's regular resident tuition, plus all required fees), students must be legal residents of one of the participating states.
- To be considered for the Midwest Student Exchange Program, an entering freshman must be admitted to University of Central Missouri by March 1 of his/her senior year of high school. The student's application for admission and high school transcript are reviewed to determine eligibility. There is no separate application.
- An entering freshman must have an ACT superscore of at least 22 and rank in the top
25% of his/her high school graduating class (or at least 3.5 high school grade-point
average).
Must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident. - Status in the Midwest Student Exchange Program is automatically renewed for students who complete 12 or more credit hours each semester at University of Central Missouri, with a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.25 (entering freshmen may benefit for a maximum of 8 semesters; transfer students a maximum of 6 semesters).
- The total number of Midwest Student Exchange Program participants is limited to 100. Current recipients receive priority consideration.
- Legal resident of one of the following participating states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio or Wisconsin
- Undergraduate course work
Missouri Boys/Girls State Scholarship |
Value:
$1,500 one-time scholarship (10 scholarships available for Missouri Boys State participants and 10 scholarships available for Missouri Girls State participants)
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| One time scholarship | Yes |
- Be an incoming freshman
- Be admitted to UCM as a regularly-admitted freshman (not provisionally admitted)
- Successfully complete the June 2025 Missouri American Legion Boys State or Girls State Program. Missouri Boys State or Missouri Girls State personnel will be contacted for verification of successful completion.
- Submit the by February 1, 2026
- The Missouri Boys State/Girls State Scholarship may be received in addition to other University of Central Missouri funded scholarships.
- Not Renewable: The $1,500 value will be divided evenly between the Fall and Spring semesters of the recipient’s freshman year.
Non-Resident Scholar Award |
Value:
Covers 25%, 50% or 100% of non-resident fees. Percentage is based on cumulative, official high-school transcript GPA (6th, 7th or 8th semester, whichever is higher), and official ACT composite score (or superscore, whichever is higher) achieved on or before the June national ACT test (or SAT score/superscore earned on or before the June national SAT test). The UCM Scholarship Eligibility Calculator may be used to estimate the value.
| Annual Value of the Red & Black Scholarship | % Non-Resident Fees Reduced | UCM GPA Required for Renewal |
| $4,000 | 100% | 2.50 |
| $3,000 | 100% | 2.50 |
| $2,000 | 50% | 2.50 |
| $1,500 | 25% | 2.50 |
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| For 8 semesters | Yes |
- Incoming freshman student
- Non-resident of Missouri
- Be a regularly-admitted freshman (not provisionally admitted)
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident*
- Recipients of the Non-Resident Scholar Award may not also receive the UCM Out-of-State Scholarship, Second Generation Grant, Non-Resident Fee Credit, Midwest Student Exchange Program, non-resident fee portion of the UCM Educational Development Program or other programs that cover all or partial non-resident fees.
- Maintains status as a full-time UCM undergraduate student (12 or more undergraduate credit hours) each semester, and
- Maintains legal residence status as a non-Missouri resident, and
- Achieves the minimum cumulative UCM grade-point average required (see chart below) upon completion of the second semester as a full-time student at UCM (and each academic year thereafter).
Second Generation Grant |
Value: 100% of non-resident fees.
| Is this renewable? | Is this stackable? |
| Renewable 8 semesters of undergraduate study | Yes |
- Incoming freshman student
- Non-resident of Missouri
- Child/grandchild or step-child/step-grandchild of an individual who earned a degree (bachelors, masters, education specialist, or cooperative doctorate) from University of Central Missouri
- Be a regularly-admitted freshman (not provisionally admitted).
- Recipients of the Second Generation Grant may not also receive the UCM Bound Scholarship, Non-Resident Fee Credit, Midwest Student Exchange Program, Non-Resident Scholar Award, non-resident fee portion of the UCM
- Educational Development Program, or other programs that cover all or partial non-resident fees.
- Maintains status as a full-time UCM undergraduate student (12 or more undergraduate credit hours) each semester, and
- Maintains legal residence status as a non-Missouri resident, and
- Achieves a minimum cumulative UCM grade-point average of 2.75 upon completion of the second semester as a full-time student at UCM (and each semester thereafter).
*Missouri state law prohibits the granting of state aid (including scholarships, in-state tuition, etc.) to any student with unlawful immigration status and/or DACA status.
Please note: UCM scholarships may be reduced or canceled in the event the University of Central Missouri Board of Governors determines a financial exigency exists or state appropriations are substantially reduced to such an extent that funding is not available - or - if the recipient fraudulently misrepresents any information or engages in serious misconduct warranting substantial disciplinary penalty.
FREE SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND SCHOLARSHIPS
OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIP LINKS
- - Construction Majors
- Access Extra Scholarship - (Access MO eligible, senior in high school, 28 or higher ACT composite score or SAT equivalent)
- - Business Majors
- - Aviation Majors
- Cass Regional Medical Center Auxiliary Scholarship
- (Scroll to bottom for application)
- (multiple scholarships)
- (medical related majors)
- (Agriculture related majors)
- (Science Degrees)
- for Interior Design Students
- for Health Care Students
- (Offered to undergraduate students at SO, JR or SR level who are attending a Missouri public 4-year institution)
SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS
Wondering if a scholarship is too good to be true? Maybe it is. Check the following
two sites to be sure.
Additional Scholarship Information
Contact
Student Financial Services
Scholarships
PO Box 800
Tel: (660) 543-8266
Fax: (660) 543-8080