Helping Your Student
Quick Links for Family Members
- Important dates
- Cost of attendance
- Financial planning for college
- Parent loans
- University employees and family
- Parent access to information
Important Information for Helping Your Student Succeed
Enrollment
Incoming freshmen and transfer students must contact the Office of Admissions to enroll at MU. Continuing students may register online through the myZou student center.
Undergraduate students receiving financial aid are expected to meet minimum enrollment requirements.
More information is available through the Office of the University Registrar.
Billing
A billing statement is available on the myZou student center on or around the 15th of each month. Payment is due on the 10th of the following month. If the 15th of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, payment is due the preceding business day. The billing statement shows the total amount due or the minimum payment due.
In order for a parent to access billing information, the student must grant permission.
More information is available through the Cashiers Office.
Making Payments
If your financial aid award does not cover all tuition and fees, you may pay the semester total or pay through an installment plan. The minimum payment is automatically figured on your bill. To avoid finance charges and late-payment fees, pay the billed balance in full by the scheduled due date.
Students can check account information by logging onto the myZou student center.
More information is available through the Cashiers Office.
Paying for Housing and Dining
On-campus housing is billed through the Cashiers Office and appears on the student’s billing statement. If the student is in on-campus housing and receiving financial aid, the awards may cover the entire housing balance. All available funds will be applied to the housing charge.
Sorority and fraternity houses are considered off-campus housing and are not included on the student’s billing statement. Financial aid will not automatically cover this type of housing.
More information is available through Mizzou Residential Life.
Buying Books
Textbooks and other course materials can be purchased at the Mizzou Bookstore. Students can charge their books to their university accounts, and any remaining financial aid funds can be applied to these charges.
Who is considered a Parent on the FAFSA (for dependent students)?
Federal Student Aid programs, by law, are based on the assumption that a dependent student and their parents have the primary responsibility to pay for college. The law provides several criteria that determine if a student is considered independent of their parents for aid eligibility purposes. See our frequently asked questions for more information on independent status. Note: a student reaching the age of 18 or 21 and/or living apart from his/her parents does not affect their dependency status.
A student is instructed to file the FAFSA with his/her legal parents (biological and/or adoptive parent(s). Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters, and aunts and uncles are not considered parents unless they have legally adopted the student. If legal parents of the student (i.e. biological and/or adoptive) are married to each other, regardless of sexual orientation, or are not married to each other and live together, the student will answer the questions about both of them.
Additional guidance with examples regarding parental information on the FAFSA:
| Legal Parents’ Marital Status As of the Date the FAFSA was Filed | Provide information for: |
| Married or Remarried (to each other) | Both biological/adoptive parents. Consistent with the Supreme Court decision holding Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, same-sex couples must report their marital status as married if they were legally married in a state or other jurisdiction (foreign country) that permits same-sex marriage, without regard to where the couple resides. |
| Never Married (and not living with the other biological/adoptive parent) | The biological/adoptive parent with whom the student lived with more during the past 12 months. If the student did not live with one parent any more than the other, provided parental information for the parent who provided more support during the past 12 months or during the most recent year the student received support from a parent. |
| Unmarried, living together (with the other biological/adoptive parent) | Both biological/adoptive parents, regardless of gender. Do not include someone who is not married to your parent and who is not a biological/adoptive parent. |
| Widowed (and not living with the other biological/adoptive parent) | Your biological/adoptive parent. |
| Widowed and Remarried | The biological/adoptive parent and his/her spouse (as the stepparent). |
| Divorced or Separated (and not living with the other biological/adoptive parent) | The biological/adoptive parent with whom the student lived with more during the past 12 months. If the student did not live with one parent any more than the other, provided parental information for the parent who provided more support during the past 12 months or during the most recent year the student received support from a parent. |
| Remarried, after Divorce | The biological/adoptive parent with whom the student lived with more during the past 12 months and their spouse (as the stepparent). If the student did not live with one parent any more than the other, provided parental information for the parent who provided more support during the past 12 months or during the most recent year the student received support from a parent. |
| Divorced, but living with the other biological/adoptive parent | Both biological/adoptive parents, regardless of gender. Do not include someone who is not married to your parent and who is not a biological/adoptive parent (select the marital status of ‘Unmarried, living together’ on the FAFSA). |
| Separated, but living with the other biological/adoptive parent. | Both biological/adoptive parents, regardless of gender. Do not include someone who is not married to your parent and who is not a biological/adoptive parent (select the marital status of ‘Married or Remarried’ on the FAFSA). |
Additional Notes
- If your biological/adoptive parent lives with someone, but is not legally married, including common-law marriage, and that person is not a biological/adoptive parent, only the biological/adoptive parent provides information on the FAFSA.
- If your biological/adoptive parent is legally married, including common-law marriage (if recognized in their state of legal residence), provide information for both the biological/adoptive parent and the other parent (as stepparent) on the FAFSA.
