Scholarships

Leland (Full-Tuition) –

Leland Scholars receive a full-tuition scholarship. This scholarship is limited to five members of the fall Julius Olsen Honors Program (JOHP) in consultation with the Faculty Honors Council once the Honors class is chosen for that year. Application and admission into the Julius Olsen Honors Program is required. The Leland scholarship will take the place of any previously awarded academic scholarship.

• You must maintain a 3.5 GPA and be a member in good standing of the JOHP to continue to receive the scholarship.  The Honors Council may allow for a semester of probation if your GPA falls below a 3.5.  You must maintain a full-time schedule except in the case of your final semester if 12 hours is not required for graduation, in which case the amount will be prorated to the amount of hours taken for that final semester.

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

• You must maintain a 3.5 GPA and be a member in good standing of the JOHP to continue to receive the scholarship.  The Honors Council may allow for a semester of probation if your GPA falls below a 3.5. You must maintain a full-time schedule except in the case of your final semester if 12 hours is not required for graduation, in which case the amount will be prorated to the amount of hours taken for that final semester.

Valedictorian/Salutatorian ($1,500) One year scholarship – Awarded to incoming high school graduates who rank #1 or #2 in their class. You must submit an official transcript indicating class rank.

Not an applicable scholarship if you are in the Leland or Honors Program.

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 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 if you are receiving an academic scholarship from the Leland or Honors Program. International students are not eligible for Heritage Scholarships.

Heritage Scholarship is a four-year/eight-long-terms award and is based on full-time enrollment. You must meet eligibility requirements each semester to continue receiving your scholarship in future terms.

Phi Theta Kappa ($2,000) Transfer Students ONLY– 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.  * First Time Freshmen students receiving an academic scholarship are not eligible for PTK. *

• Award may be renewed each year until student graduates with their bachelor’s degree as long as eligibility is maintained.
• Undergraduate transfer students only
• Must maintain 12+ hours per semester and a 2.0 GPA or higher cumulative GPA
• Must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) eligibility each semester

The Cynthia Ann Parker Endowed Presidential Scholars Program ($4000) was established to ensure scholarship funds for the recruitment and retention of students who demonstrate a high desire and ability to succeed in any of the disciplines of the College of Liberal Arts. Individuals who apply and are selected for the Cynthia Ann Parker College of Liberal Arts scholarships are to be identified as the Cynthia Ann Parker Scholars.

• Only new incoming freshman and transfer students may apply. Application window is Dec 1^st through March 1^st.
  • Only 4 students are chosen each year to join the program.
• The Scholarship award is $4000 for 4 years if eligibility is maintained.

Academic Scholarships for First Time Freshmen

The Academic Scholarships listed below are based upon test scores and high school academic criteria. After admittance, you are evaluated for scholarships based on your 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) – SAT, ACT, or CLT Score
  • SAT = 1200
  • ACT = 25
  • CLT = 78

• Presidents ($20,000) = 3.6 – 4.00 GPA required, CLT = 76
• Deans ($18,000) = 3.3 – 3.59 GPA required, CLT = 74
• University ($16,000) = 3.1 – 3.29 GPA required, CLT = 72
• Opportunity Grant ($14,000) = 2.0 – 3.09 GPA required, CLT = 66
  • Opportunity Grant requires the student to live on campus

Academic Scholarships for Transfer Students

• Presidents ($16,000) = 3.5 – 4.0 transfer GPA required.
• Deans ($14,000) = 3.0 – 3.49 transfer GPA required.
• University ($12,000) = 2.5 – 2.99 transfer GPA required.
• Transfer ($10,000) = 2.0 – 2.49 transfer GPA required.

Academic Scholarship Information

• • The above scholarships apply to first-time freshmen or transfer students who begin attendance in the 2025-2026 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, full-time, undergraduate block tuition is assessed. Grad students and online programs are not eligible.
  • 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/eight long terms of undergraduate study and are capped at tuition.
  • A student may not receive an academic scholarship of higher value than the original award after they start attending as a degree-seeking student.
  • Academic merit scholarships are evenly split between the Fall and Spring semesters and cannot be combined into one term.
  • Academic merit scholarships are not applicable to summer enrollment.
  • If you receive several HSU scholarships that would put you over tuition, your academic scholarship would be lowered to max tuition to comply with Institutional Policy.
  • 5th-Year Academic Scholarship Request Form may be completed if something prevented you from graduating in 4 years as expected.

 

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 is 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 for students who demonstrate considerable financial need. 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.

• Simmons is determined using your FAFSA data.
• 4-year (8-term), Undergrad students only.

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

• Church Match ($1000 max per Semester)– HSU will match designated Christian church gifts $1-for-$1 up to $2,000 per year, per student. Students must ask the Church to submit the Church Match Scholarship Form annually to receive the match.
  • Max amount matched is $1000 per semester for fall and spring only.
  • No deadline to turn in church funds and form, but it must be within the school year that the funds will be applied to the student’s account.
  • Funds cannot be applied retroactively for semesters that came before May 1.
• Abilene Education Foundation (AEF) – HSU will match scholarship funds received for students recognized by AEF.
• Junior Achievement of Abilene (JA) – HSU will match scholarship funds received for students recognized by JA.
• Stone Owl ($3,000 – $6,000) – HSU will match scholarship funds received for students participating in the Stone Owl Scholars program.

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

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

• You must maintain a 3.5 GPA and be a member in good standing of the JOHP to continue to receive the scholarship.  The Honors Council may allow for a semester of probation if your GPA falls below a 3.5.  You must maintain a full-time schedule except in the case of your final semester if 12 hours is not required for graduation, in which case the amount will be prorated to the amount of hours taken for that final semester.

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

• You must maintain a 3.5 GPA and be a member in good standing of the JOHP to continue to receive the scholarship.  The Honors Council may allow for a semester of probation if your GPA falls below a 3.5. You must maintain a full-time schedule except in the case of your final semester if 12 hours is not required for graduation, in which case the amount will be prorated to the amount of hours taken for that final semester.

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.

Match Scholarships – Amounts vary

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

• International Churches who wire the funds to the Business Office are still required to fill out and sign the Church Match Form and may email the form to financialaid@drordi.com
  • Wired funds do come with a fee that is applied to the students account once the funds are processed.

• Max amount matched is $1000 per semester for fall and spring semesters only.
• The church must submit the funds and form within the school year that the funds will be applied to the student’s account.
• Funds cannot be applied retroactively for semesters that came before May 1.

Academic Scholarship Information

• The above scholarships apply to first-time freshmen or transfer students who begin attendance in the 2025-2026 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, full-time, undergraduate block tuition is assessed. Grad students and online programs are not eligible.
• 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/eight long terms of undergraduate study and are capped at tuition.
• A student may not receive an academic scholarship of higher value than the original award after they start their studies as a degree-seeking student.
• Academic scholarships are evenly split between the Fall and Spring semesters and cannot be combined into one term.

If you receive several HSU scholarships that would put you over tuition, your academic scholarship would be lowered to max all funds combined to meet the tuition charges to comply with Institutional Policy.

5th-Year Academic Scholarship Request Form

Hardin-Simmons University utilizes Scholarship Universe, HSU’s endowed scholarship management system. Endowed scholarship opportunities are financial aid awards that have been established through generous donations to Hardin-Simmons University by individuals who wish to enable HSU students to further their education at reduced cost through additional scholarship funding for both Undergraduate and Graduate students.

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 Universe, HSU’s scholarship management system. 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 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.
• Filling out a scholarship application within Scholarship Universe DOES NOT guarantee that you will receive an endowed scholarship. However, it greatly increases your chances of receiving an endowed award. All endowed scholarships are capped at tuition per institutional policy.

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 Universe are for the subsequent Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters after the May 31 deadline.

• 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 Universe, which when submitted, may provide students with additional scholarship funds for the academic year in which they have applied for.
• Each endowed scholarship award email comes with a link to write a Thank You Letter to the Donor that funded that award. These letters are viewed and processed by our Advancement Team before they are mailed to the Donors.
• A special Donor Banquet is held in April with unique opportunities to potentially meet your Donor in person.

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.

Scholarship Universe Frequently Asked Questions

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?
No, you are not required to answer any matching questions before you to submit the General Application. However, only answering some or none of the questions will greatly limit the number of scholarships you could be considered for if the only data that is matched is what we already have on file for you including your admissions application, academic records, FAFSA data, etc.

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 from Scholarship Universe with the scholarship name and the amount awarded, and a link to write a thank you letter to your Donor. 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 Universe?
At least once a year, during the February 1 – May 31 application window, so that you can answer any new or refreshed Matching Questions and submit the General Scholarship application to be considered for endowed scholarships for the upcoming school year.

Outside scholarships are a great source of additional aid. Please visit our designated outside scholarship page for additional information and resources.