Scholarships

Hardin-Simmons University aims to make your next four years your best four years. We strive to make attending our university affordable for incoming, transfer, and continuing students. After admittance, applicants are evaluated for institutional scholarships, most notably, an academic scholarship. The various scholarships offered to Hardin-Simmons students are one of many ways that you can fund your education while attending HSU. The HSU Net Price Calculator is designed to help you estimate your financial aid options and takes just 3-5 minutes to complete.

About Institutional HSU Scholarships

  • Your admission application and FAFSA are used in determining your eligibility for scholarships.
  • Requirements and/or evaluation criteria for scholarships are subject to change.
  • Institutional scholarships are applied to fall and spring semesters only.
  • All awards funded by HSU are tuition specific.
  • Institutional scholarships are available for programs for which regular, undergraduate block tuition is assessed.
  • Students in the Intercollegiate Program or Study Abroad (beyond one semester) programs are not eligible for institutional scholarships.

Qualifications

Hardin-Simmons provides equal opportunity for all students seeking scholarship funds. HSU considers the following when determining eligibility for institutional scholarships:

  • academic performance,
  • ACT/SAT scores,
  • co-curricular involvement,
  • enrollment status, and
  • anticipated major when awarding scholarships to a student’s account.

Duration

Academic Scholarships are four-year/eight-long-terms awards and based on full-time enrollment. You must meet eligibility requirements each year to continue receiving your scholarship in future years. Some scholarships are awarded on an annual basis only.

Application

  • Institutional scholarships are automatically determined during your admission application review to Hardin-Simmons University. Additional scholarship opportunities can be applied for through Scholarship Central, HSU’s endowed scholarship management system, of which houses all our departmental scholarship opportunities offered across campus.
  • Unless otherwise noted, additional applications for institutional scholarships are not required, however, it is recommended that all students complete the FAFSA or TASFAA to secure as many aid options as possible.

Scholarship Central & Deadlines

  • Hardin-Simmons University utilizes Scholarship Central, HSU’s endowed scholarship management system, of which connects students to donor-funded scholarship opportunities, commonly referred to as endowed scholarships that are awarded by the faculty/staff in their respective department on campus.
  • This system provides students with the ability to directly apply to specific scholarship opportunities offered to HSU students.
  • Each new academic year presents a unique opportunity to complete and/or update the General Scholarship Application within Scholarship Central, which when submitted, may provide students with additional scholarship funds for the academic year in which they have applied for.
  • The application cycle for endowed scholarship opportunities begins February 1, with the deadline to apply being May 31 of the following year. Given these dates, scholarships offered through Scholarship Central are for the subsequent Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters after May 31.

Leland (Full-Tuition) – Leland Scholars receive a full-tuition scholarship. This scholarship is limited to five members of the fall Julius Olsen Honors Program class and selection is made by the Director of the Honors Program once the Honors class is chosen for that year. Application and admission into the Julius Olsen Honors Program required.  The Leland scholarship will take the place of any previously awarded academic scholarship.

Honors Scholarship ($25,000) – Application and admission into the Julius Olsen Honors Program required.  The Honors scholarship will take the place of any previously awarded academic scholarship.

Incoming Students Academic Scholarships

The Academic Scholarships listed below are based upon test scores and high school academic criteria. After admittance, applicants are evaluated for scholarships based on their academic performance. Please see the HSU Net Price Calculator to help you estimate the type of scholarship you may be eligible to receive.

  • Trustee ($22,000)
  • Presidents ($20,000)
  • Deans ($18,000)
  • University ($16,000)
  • Opportunity Grant ($14,000)

Transfer Academic Scholarships

  • Presidents ($16,000) – 3.50 transfer GPA required.
  • Deans ($14,000) – 3.00 transfer GPA required.
  • University ($12,000) – 2.50 transfer GPA required.
  • Transfer ($10,000) – 2.00 transfer GPA required.

Academic Scholarship Information

  • The above scholarships apply to first-time freshmen or transfer students who begin attendance in the 2024-2025 academic year.
  • For students who began attendance in previous cohort years, please view your academic catalog for renewal amounts.
  • HSU academic scholarships are only available for programs for which regular, undergraduate block tuition is assessed.
  • Hardin-Simmons University does not stack Academic Scholarships. If you qualify for more than one Academic Scholarship, HSU will offer you the highest dollar-value scholarship only.
  • All HSU scholarships are renewable for a maximum of four years/8 long terms of undergraduate study and capped at tuition.
  • The above scholarships cannot be applied to other programs, including online programs.
  • A student may not receive an academic scholarship of higher value than the original award.

Heritage Scholarship ($1,500) – The Heritage Scholarship is awarded in two different ways:

  1. Undergraduate students whose parent/sibling graduated from Hardin-Simmons University or who currently have a brother/sister attending HSU.
  2. Undergraduate students whose parent is currently serving in full-time Christian church ministry, or whose parent is currently serving as a full-time Christian missionary. The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to request additional documentation from the churches participating to verify eligibility. The Hardin-Simmons Financial Aid office will have final say related to questions of eligibility for a specific church.

The Heritage Scholarship is not applicable for students with a scholarship from the Honors Program, International Students, or students taking courses at Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing.

Simmons Exchange Grant ($ amounts vary) – Utilize the Net Price Calculator to see how you may qualify.  The Simmons Exchange Grant is funded by various sources. HSU has blessed with donations from many alumni, parents, friends, and foundations who generously give to the university each year. These gifts plus grant programs make up what we call the Simmons Exchange Grant, which is used to lower the tuition cost of an HSU education. Students who are awarded additional scholarships, endowments, and/or other grants will see their Simmons Exchange Grant decreased as it is replaced with specific grants or the names of generous donors who gave sacrificially to help lower your tuition cost.

Valedictorian/Salutatorian ($1,500) One year scholarship – Awarded to incoming high school graduates who rank #1 or #2 in their class. Students must submit an official transcript indicating class rank. Not applicable for students with a scholarship from the Honors Program.

Phi Theta Kappa ($2,000) – Awarded to incoming transfer students whose transcript or PTK certificate indicates their membership to the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Student must present transcript or PTK certificate to the financial aid office.  *Transfer students only, students receiving an incoming students academic scholarship are not eligible for PTK.

Match Scholarships (amounts vary and only apply to the following):

  • Abilene Education Foundation (AEF) – HSU will match scholarship funds received for students recognized by AEF.
  • Church Match ($1 for $1 up to $2,000) – HSU will match designated Christian church gifts $1 for $1 up to $2,000 per year, per student. Students must complete and submit the Church Match Scholarship Form annually to receive the match.
  • Stone Owl ($3,000 – $6,000) – HSU will match scholarship funds received for students participating in the Stone Owl Scholars program.

*All total match scholarships capped at $4,000/semester.

Leland – $30,694 Leland Scholars will receive a full-tuition scholarship award. Up to five members of the fall Julius Olsen Honors Program class will be chosen as Leland Scholars. Determination of eligibility for the Leland Scholarships will be made by the director of the Honors Program after the Honors class is chosen for that year.  Application and admission into the Julius Olsen Honors Program required. The Leland scholarship will take the place of any previously awarded academic scholarship.

Honors – $25,000 Application and admission into the Julius Olsen Honors Program required. The Honors scholarship will take the place of any previously awarded academic scholarship.

University – $16,000 Hardin-Simmons University provides an excellent scholarship for high achieving international students who desire to study in the United States at our Abilene, Texas, campus. After receiving admission to the university, international students are eligible to be evaluated for this scholarship. HSU considers a student’s academic records, college entrance exam scores, co-curricular involvement, enrollment status, and anticipated major when awarding scholarships to an international.

Other Scholarships Available

Match Scholarships – Amounts vary

Church Match – HSU will match designated Christian church gifts $1 for $1 up to $2,000/year, per student. Students must complete and submit the Church Match Scholarship Form annually to receive the match.

*All total match scholarships capped at $4,000/semester.

Academic Scholarship Information

  • The above scholarships apply to first-time freshmen or transfer international students who begin attendance in the 2024-2025 academic year. For students who began attendance in previous years, please view your academic catalog for renewal amounts.
  • HSU academic scholarships are only available for programs for which regular, block tuition is assessed.
  • All HSU scholarships are renewable for a maximum of four years of undergraduate study and capped at tuition.
  • The above scholarships cannot be applied to other programs, including online programs.
  • A student may not receive an academic scholarship of higher value than the original award.

Endowed scholarship opportunities are financial aid awards that have been established through generous donations to Hardin-Simmons University by individuals who wish to enable Hardin-Simmons’ students to further their education at reduced cost through additional scholarship funding.

About Endowed Scholarships

  • Endowed scholarships are available through the various university departments across campus, each having their own set of eligibility and selection criteria established by the donor of the scholarship fund. Recipients of a particular endowed scholarship(s) are determined by the respective faculty/staff member who serve as their department’s Scholarship Budget Officer.
  • Students may apply for endowed scholarship opportunities through Scholarship Central, HSU’s scholarship management system. In order to access the system and view/apply for scholarships you must have your HSU login credentials, provided after you have been admitted to Hardin-Simmons.
  • Once you login with your HSU email and password, you will be prompted to answer a series of optional Matching Questions that will enable the system to further identify the HSU endowed scholarship opportunities you could potentially receive from the information we do not already have on file from your admissions application, academic records, and/or FAFSA data.
  • Answering the optional Matching Questions is not required to submit the General Scholarship Application within Scholarship Central but is encouraged as doing so will further increase your chances of receiving an endowed scholarship.
  • Filling out a scholarship application within Scholarship Central DOES NOT guarantee that you will receive an endowed scholarship. However, it greatly increases your chances of receiving an endowed scholarship. All endowed scholarships are capped at tuition per institutional policy.

Endowed Scholarship Application Cycle

The application cycle for endowed scholarship opportunities begins February 1, with the deadline to apply being May 31. Given these dates, scholarships offered through Scholarship Central are for the subsequent Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters after the May 31 deadline.

Please Note: There is an unequal distribution of endowed scholarship funds available between departments given that each endowed scholarship was designated to benefit specific departments on campus at the discretion of the donor of the scholarship fund.

Endowed scholarship opportunities available to Hardin-Simmons students can be applied for through Scholarship Central, HSU’s scholarship management system. Visit Scholarship Central.

To access the system and view/apply for scholarships you must have HSU login credentials, of which are provided after you have been admitted to Hardin-Simmons.

Scholarship Central Frequently Asked Questions

Am I still able to submit the application even if my reference hasn’t submitted their letter of recommendation?
Yes, Scholarship Central allows for student users to submit their application before their listed reference completes their letter of recommendation and automatically applies the document to your application once finalized.

How do I know if my application has been submitted?
To check the status of your scholarship application(s) you will navigate to the left-hand side of the page and select the fourth tab labeled “Applications”. This screen will show the applications that you have yet to begin under the “Ready to Start” status, those begun but not completed under the “In Progress” status, or under the “Submitted” status for those that have been completed.

Do I have to answer all the matching questions to submit my scholarship application?
You are not required to answer any matching questions to submit the General Application. Doing so will only consider the data that we already have on file for you including your admissions application, academic records, FAFSA data, etc.

I’ve answered several matching questions, but the majority of the remaining questions do not apply, do I need to keep answering?
Answering matching questions enables the system to identify more scholarships that you may be eligible to receive from data that we do not currently have. It is in your best interest to answer the matching questions that are applicable to enable the system to identify more scholarships that you may be eligible to receive.

How many matching questions are asked that pertain to HSU endowed scholarships?
There are lots of questions that must be asked to best match you to the many endowed scholarships offered at HSU. So, while we can’t provide you an exact number, be sure to answer all questions (even those listed as optional) so that our Scholarship Coordinator can nominate you to endowments that open or when funds become available.

When will scholarships be added to Financial Aid Award Packages within Student Self-Service?
If you are selected to receive one or multiple endowed scholarships, you will be notified by email the scholarship name and the amount awarded. Please allow 2-4 business days for this scholarship to be translated over to your Financial Aid Award Package within Student Self-Service

How often do I need to check Scholarship Central?
At least once a year, in February, so that you can submit the General Scholarship application to be considered for endowed scholarships.

Instructions for submitting outside scholarships to HSU:

  1. Make the scholarship check payable to the order of Hardin-Simmons University.
  2. List the student’s first and last name along with the HSU ID# within the memo of the scholarship check or in an additional communication letter.
  3. Indicate if the scholarship check is term specific (EX. Fall Term Only / Fall & Spring).
  4. Mail scholarship check and any additional information to:

Office of Financial Aid
Attn: Scholarship Coordinator
2200 Hickory Street
HSU Box 16050
Abilene, TX 79698

Outside Scholarship Report Form

Outside scholarships are funded by private individuals, foundations, or organizations that play an important role in providing gift revenue that you can use to pay your educational costs. You can apply for numerous outside scholarships online, although some scholarships require you to complete a paper application. All have certain required qualifications that applicants must meet, and all have an application filing deadline.

This guide is provided to permit easy access to some available outside scholarships, many of which are local or regional. The content of this guide is frequently revised as old scholarship offers expire and new ones take their places. There are many other outside scholarships available that aren’t covered in this guide, so be sure to do other searches related to your intended major, your parents’ employers, your church or denomination, and other unique aspects about you.

Legitimate scholarship offers will require specific information about you and often the application requires you to provide a written statement about your need or qualification eligibility, but none will ask for personal financial access information (your personal bank account or credit card information). In your searches, those kinds of personal financial information are generally an indication of an illegitimate offer, and they should be avoided. If you are completing an online application, look in the URL address line to be sure you are logged into a secure site (https://). If you are not, the information you provide may be accessed by others. If you are unsure of a specific scholarship or application process, please contact the HSU Financial Aid Office.