New Missouri State scholarship to cover tuition, fees for students with greatest financial need

Claudette Riley, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read
At the State of the University address Monday, MSU President Clif Smart announced a new scholarship to cover tuition and fees for incoming Missouri undergraduates who qualify for a federal Pell grant.
At the State of the University address Monday, MSU President Clif Smart announced a new scholarship to cover tuition and fees for incoming Missouri undergraduates who qualify for a federal Pell grant.

Missouri State will cover tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students who qualify for a federal grant aimed at helping individuals with the greatest financial need access higher education.

At the State of the University address Monday, President Clif Smart announced the MoState Access Award − a new freshman scholarship − available in fall 2023.

The award will cover any part of tuition and fees not covered by other scholarships and grants including federal Pell grant.

"If you have any level of Pell, you can come here...and we will fund your entire tuition and fees," he said.

This year, in-state undergraduate students can expect to pay $8,604 in tuition and fees for a total of 28 credit hours split over the fall and spring semesters.

Smart said the new scholarship will be a huge help to students who qualify for a partial Pell grant and possibly the Access Missouri Award of $2,000, which is also based on financial need.

"It is a gap-filler scholarship," he said. "It's to fill that gap that's missing for the people who are partially but not fully qualified for Pell."

Zora Mulligan, Missouri State University’s executive vice president, said the university's new scholarship is expected to help students worried about coming up with the rest of the money to go to college.

“This scholarship will have a monumental positive effect on many students who are making the decision about whether they can afford to attend college or not,” she said, in a release.

Smart said the MoState Access Award will likely have the biggest impact for students from the Springfield area who can live for home or others who can stay will relatives here.

"If you live in Willard or Republic or Rogersville and you're eligible for some level of Pell, you can now go to college without worrying about how you're going to pay for it," he said.

Clif Smart, president of Missouri State University, has served in the role since 2011.
Clif Smart, president of Missouri State University, has served in the role since 2011.

Each year, up to 30% of incoming freshman students are Pell-eligible. Smart said the university hopes that with the new MoState Access Award available, an extra 50 to 100 Pell-eligible students will enroll annually

To earn the MoState Access Award, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, by Feb. 1. To receive the award, students must be:

  • An incoming freshman or new transfer student.

  • A Missouri resident.

  • A U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.

  • Eligible to receive a Pell Grant.

  • Seeking an undergraduate degree.

  • Enrolled full time, which is at least 12 hours a semster.

Students who have all tuition and fees covered through Pell, Access Missouri or other traditional scholarships will not receive the MoState Access Award.

To keep the award, for up to 10 semesters at Missouri State, the student must:

  • Maintain full-time enrollment.

  • Meet satisfactory academic requirements.

  • Complete 24 MSU credit hours each academic year.

  • Submit a FAFSA by Feb. 1 each year.

  • Remain Pell-eligible.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email her with tips and story ideas and criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State scholarship to cover tuition for Pell grant students