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TO ADD NEW SLIDE LAYOUTS: Make sure you have the ‘Home’ tab selected at the top of the PowerPoint screen and click the down facing arrow to the right on the ‘New Slide’ button that is located in the second section. Look through the layouts shown and click on the one you would like to work on.

TO REMOVE SLIDES: Select the slide you would like to remove in the vertical window on the left side of the screen then hit the ‘Delete’ (on Mac) or the ‘Backspace’ (on PC).

TO REMOVE PAGE NUMBERS: At the top of the PowerPoint screen between ‘Home’ and ‘Design’ click on ’Insert.’ Then in the options bar just below ’Insert’ click on ’Slide Number’ which is in the same section a the ‘Text Box’ and ‘Object.’ Uncheck the box next to ‘Slide Numbers’ and click ‘Apply to All.’

TO ADD PAGE NUMBERS: At the top of the PowerPoint screen between ‘Home’ and ‘Design’ click on ’Insert.’ Then in the options bar just below ’Insert’ click on ’Slide Number’ which is in the same section a the ‘Text Box’ and ‘Object.’ Check the box next to ‘Slide Numbers’ and click ‘Apply to All.’

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What is Financial Aid?

Money provided to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses.

Gift – Grants/Scholarships
Loan – Subsidized/Unsubsidized
Employment – Federal/Institutional
Need vs. Non-Need Criteria

Financial aid is available for students from all families, no matter what the income level.

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Sources of Financial Aid

Federal Government

States

College and Universities

Private Sources Foundations/Community Orgnaizations/Churches

Employers

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Scholarship Searches

Missouri-Specific Residents – https://myscholarshipcentral.org/
FastWeb - https://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships
College Board – https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
Niche - https://www.niche.com/colleges/scholarships/
Peterson’s - https://www.petersons.com/scholarship-search
Scholarships.com – https://www.scholarships.com/
Red Kite - https://myredkite.com/

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Determining Federal Aid Eligibility

Cost of Attendance (Varies by School)

Student Aid Index (FAFSA)
Other “Free” aid (Grants/Scholarships)

= Financial Need

What is the Financial Aid “Package”?

It can include several types of scholarship, grant, loan and/or employment aid offered by a specific school to help meet your ‘Financial Need’ and the school’s ‘Cost of Attendance’.

Community Colleges: $6,000 - $10,000
Missouri Public Colleges and Universities: $12,000 - $26,000
Non-Missouri Public Colleges and Universities: $22,000 - $30,000
Private Colleges and Universities: $26,000 - $65,000

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What is Cost of Attendance (COA)?

Tuition and Fees
Housing and Food (living expenses)
Books, course materials, supplies
Transportation
Miscellaneous and personal

Budget for the school Year

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Cost of Attendance (Varies by School)

Student Aid Index (FAFSA)
Other “Free” aid (Grants/Scholarships)

= Financial Need

What is the Financial Aid “Package”?

It can include several types of scholarship, grant, loan and/or employment aid offered by a specific school to help meet your ‘Financial Need’ and the school’s ‘Cost of Attendance’.

Determining Federal Aid Eligibility

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Sample Semester Cost to Attend UCM

(15 hours, face-to-face, resident for 2024/25)

Instructional Fees $4,162.50

General Fees $ 707.00

Estimated Textbook Costs $ 625.00

Residence Hall (if living on-campus) $3,169.00

Meal Plan (if living on-campus) $1,934.00

TOTAL $10,597.50

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Seven Things You Will Need Before Filing the FAFSA

Your FSA ID (for both Student and Parent)
Your parents’ SSNs if you’re a dependent student

If parents do not have SSNs, they can still get an FSA ID

Tax returns for 2023
Records of child support received
Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
Net worth of investments, businesses, and farm
School(s) You Wish to Attend

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The FAFSA

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Collects Demographic & Financial Information
Calculates an SAI for the student
Normally available October 1, for any other year
For 2025-26, it is currently available.

Why fill it out?

Used to apply for Federal & State Aid

What is the SAI?

Student Aid Index
Determines a student’s eligibility for the Pell Grant and can influence eligibility for other aid

https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/fafsa-support

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Applying for Aid

Complete and submit the 2025/26 FAFSA*.
Apply for a Federal Username and password (parents too) at FSAID.ED.GOV. Username confirms identity to log onto certain U.S. Department of Education websites.
Federal income tax return information will be for prior, prior year, 2023.
Be aware of deadline and priority dates set by schools, scholarship donors, the state of Missouri, etc., especially February 1, 2025. We have not heard that date has changed yet.

*Available in December 2024

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Who Files the FAFSA?

Student - Contributor
Biological/adoptive parent - Contributor
If parents are divorced, need parental information (and spouse if remarried) of the parent who provides more than half the support
If biological parents live together but are not married, both incomes/information are included

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Who Files the FAFSA?

Consent must be given by the Contributors
FSA IDs will be required before consent can be given to import tax information

Student
Parent(s)

Very important change as there will be a direct link to tax information into the FAFSA
Apply for FSA IDs now

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FSAID.ED.GOV

Name, Date of Birth, Social Security #
Username, Email, Password
Mailing Address & Mobile Phone #
Communication Preference: Email or Postal Mail, or Text
Challenge Questions
Verify Email
Submit
Wait ~3 days for Social Security Administration Confirmation
Confirmation from SSA
Ready to Use your FSA ID!!!

Apply at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

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Use FSA ID
If no FSA ID:

“create an account”

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FAFSA Welcome

“I am starting the FAFSA form as a “Student” or “Parent”
Understanding the FAFSA form, or “Onboarding”

What is a Contributor? And what documents you might need…
Providing Consent
What to Expect after submitting the FAFSA Form

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If Parent(s) Begins FAFSA Form:

Parent(s) provides Basic Student Information

Student will receive email that a FAFSA was started on their behalf

Parent(s) Verifies Student Information
Parent(s) Completes Other Information

Student’s Grade Level
Student’s Personal Circumstances (Dependency)
Student’s Unusual Circumstances
Parent Information and Finances

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< Student SSN

< Student Name

< Student Date of Birth

< Student Email

-(not H.S. Email)

< Student Phone #

Student Identity Information

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Student Demographics

Student E-mail, Citizenship, Address, State of Legal Residency
Student Phone and Driver’s License
Student Marital Status
Student Eligibility (Citizen, Eligible Non-Citizen, or neither)
Student Education

High School Completion Status
College Grade Level (First, Second Year, Other UG, or Grad)
Degree or Certificate program of study

Provide Consent or Be Ineligible for Federal Student Aid

Providing Consent Allows Tax Info to be Populated

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Dependency Status

-Unaccompanied Homeless Youth?

-Contacting parents pose a risk?

-Parents Unwilling to provide their

information?

-Unsubsidized Loan Only

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Parent Wizard

Are your parents married to each other? Y/N
Do your parents live together? Y/N
Did one parent provide more financial support over the past 12 months? Y/N
Has the parent remarried? Y/N

EXAMPLE: “You will need to provide information for your {parent} and {stepparent}. Based on your answers, you’ll need to provide information about this parent and your stepparent on your FAFSA form. You can invite your parent and stepparent to your form so they can complete the required sections.”

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Invite Parents Form

Enter the First & Last Names of Parent(s) as shown on SScrd
Dates of Birth
Social Security Number

You can check that your parent does not have an SSN but will then need to enter the parent’s street address.

Email Address
Confirm Email Address
“Invite Parent” button
They receive the invitation (“accept” or “decline”) to input their demographic and financial information

By accepting, parents are not held financially responsible for any federal loans the student

decides to accept

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High School Name

Enter your high school information, then hit search (then select your school)

Then, you are asked to confirm the high school that you selected

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Tax Information

FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX)
Allows for an individual’s federal tax information (FTI) to be directly transferred from the IRS to the FAFSA
Consent is required by all contributors on FAFSA
IRS transfers information to populate FAFSA income questions for most tax filers
Eliminates manual entry of tax and income information

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Additional Financial Information

These are found on the IRS Form 1040

These are found on Form 1040 or Schedule 1

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Student Financials

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Federal Benefits Received

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College Name

Up to 20 schools can be selected

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Student Final Steps

Review Student Data
List of Contributors
Student Signature

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Next Steps…

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Parent Log In

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Parent Contributor Information

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Parent Onboarding

-Video

-Role of Contributors

-What to Expect as Contributors

-What Happens after Submitting the FAFSA Form

-1-3 days to process

-Student receives FAFSA Submission Summary

-Student Aid Index

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Parent Consent and Data

Consent and FAQ
Marital Status of Parent
Parent SSN, Name, Date of Birth, State of Residence, Email
Household Size (if dependent student)
Once Consent is Provided, Parent Tax Info Populates the FAFSA
Failure to Provide Consent Makes Student Ineligible for Aid

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Parent Tax Filing and Family Size

Did the parent file a 2023 joint tax return with their current spouse?

Varies depending upon prior answers.

Is Parent’s family size different from the # of individuals claimed on 2023 tax return?
Enter number of children or other dependents…
Number in College between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026
Assets

Child Support Received
Net Worth of Businesses and Farms, and Real Estate

Earned Income Tax Credits
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

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Review & Signature

Then “What Happens Next…”

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What’s Next?

Watch for further communications (missing information, award letter, etc.) from your Financial Aid Office
Complete FAFSA Verification (if selected)

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Verification

Why would your FAFSA be selected for Verification?

Selection could be random
Data does not Align on your FAFSA
FAFSA is missing information
Designed to detect intentional fraud in some cases

FA Office must verify

Income Earned from Work
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
Tax-Exempt Interest Income
Family Size (if different from FTI)
IRA Deductions & Payments

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Professional Judgment

Your FAFSA can be updated by the Financial Aid Office for one or more of the following events:

Loss of employment or benefits.
Death of a parent or other family member
Separation or divorce
Retirement
Higher than normal out-of-pocket medical, child care, or transportation costs

Being homeless
Parental abandonment, incarceration, etc.
Unable to contact parents
Contact with Parents poses risk
Human Trafficking
Refugee or asylee status

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UCM’S MULE GRANT

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

Be an incoming first-year undergraduate student or new transfer student with an associate degree entering Fall 2023 and beyond.

Be a Missouri resident (Access Missouri Grant-eligible).

Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.

File FAFSA on or before Feb. 1.

Be Federal Pell Grant eligible.

Maintain full-time (12 hours) enrollment each semester.

Maintain good academic standing.

***Pays full tuition and general fees – up to $9,413.50 - after other gift aid***