FAFSA

FAFSA

All students should complete a FAFSA application via the Federal Student Aid website.  A new FAFSA application must be completed for each school year.  For for 2024-2025 academic year the FAFSA is open. The CMU Priority Deadline for FAFSA submission is April 1 and the Access Missouri Grant Deadline is April 1.

Please note, although the office of Financial Assistance can now receive your '24-'25 FAFSA, the office cannot make corrections to your form, and it is best you make all corrections that are necessary. If you are applying for spring or summer 2024 you will need to complete the 2023-2024 FAFSA.

CMU School Code: #002453

Students must use their own personal FSA ID to electronically sign and submit their FAFSA application. Dependent students will need their parents to create and use their parent FSA IDs to log into the student's FAFSA application, utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool found within the FAFSA application, and electronically sign the application. FSA IDs can be created by students and/or parents through the Federal Student Aid website. Instructions for creating the FSA ID are found on the FSA website..

International students are not eligible for Federal Financial Assistance and should not complete a FAFSA application.

*The 2024-2025 FAFSA application is now open. 

2024-2025 FAFSA Changes

After your FAFSA is Filed

Undergraduate - Fayette Students

Student Aid Report (SAR): A Student Aid Report will be sent to the student from the Department of Education after the student has successfully completed and submitted their FAFSA application. If a SAR is not received within 24 hrs of submission, please contact The Department of Education at 1-800-4-FED-AID to verify the status of the application. The Department of Education will forward the FAFSA application on to the CMU Financial Assistance office (generally 3-5 business days after being submitted by the student).

Verification: FAFSA applications are randomly selected by the Department of Education's Central Processing Center to be verified by the institution a student will attend. If your application was selected for verification, the CMU Financial Assistance office will request additional documentation so that we can verify the information you provided when completing your FAFSA application. The most commonly requested documents for verification are:

  1. Income Tax Documents - Tax return transcripts are needed from all current household members  including: the student, their parent(s) (if the student is dependent), the student's spouse (if the student is currently married). The IRS Tax Return Transcript can be requested from the IRS:
    1. Online – www.irs.gov
    2. Telephone – 800-908-9946
    3. IRS Form 4506T-EZ
  2. Verification Worksheet: Found on your myCMU Document Tracking

Additional verification documents may also be requested as needed. Students may view a list of documents needed by logging into their myCMU account, clicking the Student Tab, Financial Aid, Document Tracking, and by selecting the correct academic school year.

All verification materials must be submitted to the CMU Financial Assistance office. Aid will not be added to a student’s account until a valid FAFSA has been received by our office from the Department of Education with all verification corrections having been processed by them.  Students should submit documents in a timely manner to allow adequate time for review, verification, and processing.  Financial aid can be added to a student’s account up to the last day of class as long as a valid, verified FAFSA has been received by the CMU Financial Aid office. *Note that if changes are necessary to the FAFSA during the verification process, it can take up to 5 business days for our office to receive the corrected application from the Department of Education.

Scholarship Offer: Students will be mailed a scholarship offer from the Admissions office. The offer should be signed and returned to the Admissions office.

Accept or Decline Financial Aid: Students can view their financial aid through their myCMU account once their aid has been packaged. After a student's aid is finalized, the student will receive an email notification with instructions to view/accept/decline/lower their aid. The financial aid package can be found on the student's myCMU account, under the Student Tab, Financial Aid, then Accept/Decline Aid. Choose the Academic Year, then click on "Accept/Decline Aid." Follow the instructions and hit submit to complete the process. Students do not have to accept all aid offered. Remember: Loans must be repaid. Visit the Financial Assistance web page to learn more about student's rights and responsibilities. Please note: financial aid can not be disbursed until the student formally accepts/declines/lowers their aid and submits.

Transcripts: Students should make sure that their official high school and/or college academic transcripts are submitted to CMU.  **Financial aid cannot be finalized until all academic transcripts from previously attended institutions have been received and recorded by the CMU Registrar's office.

Undergraduate - CGES & Graduate Students

Student Aid Report (SAR):  A Student Aid Report will be sent to the student from the Department of Education after the student has successfully completed and submitted their FAFSA application. If a SAR is not received within 24 hrs of submission, please contact The Department of Education at 1-800-4-FED-AID to verify the status of the application. The Department of Education will forward the FAFSA application on to the CMU Financial Assistance office (generally 3-5 business days after being submitted by the student).

Verification: FAFSA applications are randomly selected by Central Processing at FAFSA for verification of submitted data. If your application was selected for verification, the CMU Financial Assistance office will request additional documentation. Your financial aid will remain estimated until verification is complete. The most common required documents for verification are:

  1. Income Tax Documents - Tax return transcripts are needed from all current household members:  that includes the student, their parent (if student is dependent), the student's spouse (if the student is currently married). The IRS Tax Return Transcript can be requested from the IRS: 
    1. Online: www.irs.gov
    2. Telephone: 800-908-9946
    3. IRS Form 4506T-EZ
  2. Verification Worksheet: Found on your myCMU Financial Aid Document Tracking 

Additional verification documents may also be requested as needed. Students may view a list of documents needed by logging into their myCMU account, clicking the Student Tab, Financial Aid, Document Tracking, and by selecting the correct academic school year.

All verification materials must be submitted to the financial aid office. Aid will not be added to a student’s account until a valid FAFSA has been received by our office from the Department of Education with all verification corrections processed by them.  Students should submit documents in a timely manner to allow adequate time for review, verification,  and processing.  Financial aid can be added to a student’s account up until the last day of class as long as a valid, verified FAFSA has been received by our office . Note that if corrections need to be made to the FAFSA application during the verification process, it can take up to 5 business days for our office to receive the corrected FAFSA from the Department of Education.

Documentation: Financial assistance cannot be awarded until:

  1. Academic transcripts from all previously attended colleges have been submitted to the Registrar's Office and processed by them.
  2. An official Letter of Acceptance from CMU has been made to the student.
  3. Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note have been completed (if a student plans on accepting Federal Student Loans.)  Remember: Loans must be repaid.
  4. A student's financial aid package has been fully submitted electronically via the student's myCMU account. *A student must accept/decline/lower all aid offered before submitting.

Upon a student's acceptance to CMU, site representatives send all necessary documents to the Financial Assistance office. The Financial Assistance office receives a student's FAFSA application from the Department of Education, verifies the application, processes the application and finalizes a student's aid package. Once a student's aid has been finalized, the student will receive an email notification with instructions to accept/decline/or lower their aid. Financial Aid packages can be found on the student's myCMU account, under the Student Tab, Financial Aid, Academic Year, then click on "Accept/Decline Aid." Follow the instructions and hit submit to complete the process. Students do not have to accept all aid offered. Remember: Loans must be repaid. Learn more about student's rights and responsibilities here . Please note: Financial aid will not be disbursed until the student has formally accepted their aid electronically via their myCMU account.

Once class attendance has been verified, the CMU Business Office will begin processing refund checks.  Please contact the Business Office if you have any questions regarding book vouchers and expected refund checks.