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University of Central Missouri · Missouri

UCM Merit Aid

UCM publishes a transparent cumulative-HS-GPA scholarship grid ($1,500-$4,000/yr) for fall 2026 freshmen plus a last-dollar Mule Grant that covers remaining tuition and general fees and generous non-resident fee waivers.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers63 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK

Rules that bite at UCM

The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from UCM's own published policy, not generic advice.

  • displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently

    UCM treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.

Common merit-aid mistakes at UCM

  1. The Mule Grant is last-dollar — it only covers tuition and general fees REMAINING after federal, state, institutional, and private/outside grants and scholarships are applied, so an outside scholarship reduces it.

  2. The UCM Out-of-State Scholarship cannot be combined with the Second Generation Grant, Non-Resident Fee Credit, Midwest Student Exchange Program, Non-Resident Scholar Award, or other programs covering non-resident fees.

  3. ACT Excellence is for a 27+ ACT superscore; on the freshman grid the $1,000 appears aligned with the 3.75+ GPA row — confirm whether it applies at lower GPA tiers (see Section C).

  4. UCM scholarships may be reduced or canceled if the Board of Governors declares financial exigency or state appropriations are substantially reduced, or for fraud/serious misconduct.

  5. UCM emphasizes the FAFSA (code 002454) as the key to scholarships, grants, and work-study; the last-dollar Mule Grant in particular depends on the federal/state grant picture.

Who this school is for

Missouri and regional freshmen with a 3.0+ HS GPA (more for higher tiers), out-of-state students from 15 named states (non-resident fee waivers), and need-eligible students who can layer the last-dollar Mule Grant.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $22,650 for 2025-2026. Source

Institutional merit aid tiers

Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.

$1,500-$4,000 per year…$1,500-$4,000 per year (by cumulative HS GPA)

Freshman Red and Black Scholarship (Starting Fall 2026)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.0+ cumulative HS GPA (tiered: 3.75+, 3.5-3.74, 3.25-3.49, 3.0-3.24)
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Freshman award based purely on cumulative high school GPA.

Renewal terms

Up to eight (8) semesters of undergraduate study. Renewal GPA not stated on this page. Stackable: Yes.

Notes

GPA grid (per year): 3.75+ = $4,000; 3.5-3.74 = $3,000; 3.25-3.49 = $2,000; 3.0-3.24 = $1,500. automaticOnStats set true because the award is defined entirely by a cumulative-HS-GPA → fixed-amount table; the page does not include an explicit 'no application required' sentence (see Section C).

Source

$1,000 per year

ACT Excellence Scholarship (Starting Fall 2026)

AutomaticRenewable
ACT
27+ ACT superscore
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Awarded for a 27+ ACT superscore (per the column header on the freshman grid).

Renewal terms

Renewable 8 semesters total. Stackable: Yes.

Notes

$1,000/year for a 27+ ACT superscore; stackable with the Red & Black Scholarship. The freshman grid displays the $1,000 ACT Excellence amount aligned with the 3.75+ GPA row — see Section C re: whether it applies at all GPA levels.

Source

Remaining tuition and general fees…Remaining tuition and general fees (last-dollar)

Mule Grant (Starting Fall 2026)

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Eligibility requirements not displayed in the page body (collapsed accordion).

Renewal terms

Up to eight (8) continuous semesters of undergraduate study. Stackable: 'Yes, up to tuition and general fees cost.'

Notes

Last-dollar award: covers any tuition and general fees REMAINING after federal, state, institutional and private/outside grants and scholarships have been applied. Winning other grants/scholarships (including outside ones) reduces the Mule Grant.

Source

100% of non-resident fees

UCM Out-of-State Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Regularly-admitted (not on academic probation) undergraduates whose permanent legal residence is in AR, CO, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, MS, NE, NM, OK, SD, TN, TX, or WY, and who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Renewal terms

Automatically renewed for students who maintain legal residence in the qualifying area. Stackable: Yes.

Notes

Credit equal to the non-resident portion of tuition fees. CANNOT also receive the Second Generation Grant, Non-Resident Fee Credit, Midwest Student Exchange Program, Non-Resident Scholar Award, the non-resident fee portion of the UCM Educational Development Program, or other programs that cover all/partial non-resident fees.

Source

25%…25%, 50%, or 100% of non-resident fees (by GPA/ACT)

Non-Resident Scholar Award

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
Based on cumulative official HS transcript GPA (6th/7th/8th semester, higher)
ACT
Official ACT composite or superscore (or SAT), achieved on/before the June national test
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Percentage of non-resident fees waived is set by a GPA/test grid.

Renewal terms

For 8 semesters; UCM GPA required for renewal is 2.50 across all tiers. Stackable: Yes.

Notes

Grid ties amount to non-resident fee %: $4,000 value=100%, $3,000=100%, $2,000=50%, $1,500=25% (renewal UCM GPA 2.50 for all). The page cross-references the Red & Black annual values.

Source

$4,000 per year

UCM Heritage Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Eligibility requirements not displayed in the page body (collapsed).

Renewal terms

Graduating high school senior: up to four years / eight semesters total. College transfer: up to three years / six semesters total. Stackable: Yes.

Notes

Flat $4,000/year; separate transfer renewal window (6 semesters).

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

Most freshman scholarships are marked stackable. The Mule Grant is last-dollar: it only covers tuition and general fees remaining after federal, state, institutional, and private/outside grants and scholarships are applied (so outside awards reduce it). The non-resident fee waivers cannot be combined with one another. All UCM scholarships may be reduced/canceled on financial exigency or for fraud/misconduct.

Stacking is generally allowed and the table marks each award 'Yes' for stackable. The displacement mechanism is concentrated in (a) the last-dollar Mule Grant, which is reduced by private/outside scholarships, and (b) mutual exclusivity among non-resident fee programs.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at UCM

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

Amount$1,000 per yearEligibilityRenewable; stackable.

Source

Amount$1,000 per year ($500 per semester)EligibilityUp to six semesters; stackable.

Source

Amount100% of non-resident feesEligibilityRenewable 8 semesters; stackable (but not with the Out-of-State Scholarship).

Non-resident fee waiver.

Source

Amount50% of the non-resident portion of feesEligibilityNon-Missouri residents in qualifying states; student pays the remaining 50% of non-resident fees plus in-state tuition.

MSEP.

Source

AmountVariesEligibilityRenewable 10 semesters; stackable.

External KC Scholars program honored by UCM.

Source

Amount$1,500 one-timeEligibility10 awards each for Missouri Boys State and Girls State participants.

One-time.

Source

Amount$500 one-time (Daisies-Ambassadors); $1,000 one-time (Gold Award)EligibilitySelf-identified via student portal; the two can be combined.

One-time.

Source

UCM merit aid FAQ

  • How much is the Freshman Red and Black Scholarship?

    Per year by cumulative HS GPA: 3.75+ = $4,000; 3.5-3.74 = $3,000; 3.25-3.49 = $2,000; 3.0-3.24 = $1,500. Renewable up to 8 semesters (starting Fall 2026).

  • What does the Mule Grant cover?

    Any tuition and general fees remaining after federal, state, institutional, and private/outside grants and scholarships have been applied (last-dollar), renewable up to 8 continuous semesters.

  • Do I get a non-resident fee waiver?

    The UCM Out-of-State Scholarship covers 100% of non-resident fees for residents of 15 named states (AR, CO, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, MS, NE, NM, OK, SD, TN, TX, WY); it can't be combined with other non-resident fee programs.

  • Is there a scholarship application?

    Foundation scholarships are applied for via UCM Scholarship Finder (AcademicWorks); the Freshman Red & Black award is presented as a cumulative-HS-GPA grid (confirm with the office whether it is awarded automatically — see notes).

How UCM compares across our verified dataset

  • 86 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.

    UCM is in the modest minority (86 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    UCM is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against UCM’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

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