Financial Literacy

The Center for Human Enrichment’s financial literacy grant goal focuses on providing CHE participants with Financial Literacy tools such as iGrad, information and scholarship resources to help them in managing their finances and making sound financial decisions. Students are encouraged to attend the financial literacy information sessions provided during fall and spring semesters on various finance topics.

The CHE Financial Literacy Coordinator is available to discuss with students relevant personal finance topics such as:

  • Creating a budget
  • Tracking spending expenses
  • Organizing finances
  • Building a good credit score
  • Repaying student loans
  • Using credit cards responsibly
  • Understanding the benefits of good credit
  • Protecting against identity theft and much more
  • Setting up retirement account(s)
  • Investing for the future

UNC Financial Resources for Students

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

To begin the financial aid process all students must have a completed their FAFSA through the Department of Education and UNC’s Office of Financial Aid. If you have not completed your FAFSA, then first read UNC’s FAFSA Tips design to help you in the application process. Be sure to file the FAFSA by the priority deadline to ensure your access to the best financial aid package available.

Need more information?

Contact the Office of Financial Aid at 970-351-4862 or email them at ofa@unco.edu. You may also visit their office at Bear Central in the Campus Commons if you have additional financial aid questions. Walk-in appointments are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

UNC’s Federal School Code: 001349

iGrad Financial Wellness Tool

As a UNC student, you have access to iGrad, a free financial tool designed to help you make effective personal finance decisions. This finance tool will help you reach your financial goals one step at a time.  To better prepare you for the financial challenges you will face in college and beyond, take advantage of iGrad’s financial wellness resources that include information videos, articles, modules and more. Managing your money is one of the most important life skills you can ever learn! Start by creating your profile on iGrad.

The CHE Financial Literacy Coordinator will follow up with CHE participants to discuss their progress with iGrad finance tool. This platform includes a scholarship search tool which has hundreds of external scholarship opportunities.

Searching for Scholarships

For additional information on UNC scholarships log into your URSA account, select the financial tab to access UNC’s Universal Scholarship Application (opens Nov 1st). Most UNC undergraduate scholarships require students to have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Important Note: Whenever you use Ursa, don’t forget to log out. Ursa contains personal information such as grades, financial aid, e-mail addresses, etc.

To search for other scholarship opportunities within UNC, visit UNC Scholarships. By earning scholarship awards you can reduce the cost of your college expenses and minimize the amount of student loans. One UNC internal scholarship worth applying to is the Reisher Scholars Program. Schedule an appointment with either  Dr. B Saenz or Cynthia Mitchell, CHE staff, to review your scholarship essays.

There are various scholarship sources available to students, so we recommend reading through some useful tips when applying for scholarships. Feel free to make an appointment with Dr. B. Saenz to help you start your search. Students awarded scholarships save thousands of dollars in their academic expenses.