I am not going to tell you whether this university is right for your family. No one who does not know you can tell you that. But I can put in front of you what the United States federal government reports about it, translated into language that does not require you to learn IPEDS codes to understand it. From there, the decision belongs to you and your child.
What kind of school it is and where it stands
Hardin-Simmons University is in Abilene, Texas, within Taylor County, right in the heart of a metropolitan area. That tells you where it is, not how long it takes to get there from your home: if your child plans to live with you and drive every day, make that trip yourself on a weekday, at the exact time of their classes. The map almost never matches the actual travel time.
It is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. The Carnegie system—the way the government classifies the country's universities—places it among doctoral and professional universities, and also identifies it as "highly residential": at least half of its undergraduate students lived in housing owned, controlled, or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time. That is not a decorative detail. If your child is going to live on campus, room and board are not included in tuition. They are charged separately, and you need to request them separately before comparing this school with any other.
IPEDS reports that a doctorate is the highest level the institution says it offers, and that it is primarily a bachelor's-degree-or-higher institution. That is a general institutional fact: it does not tell you whether the exact major your child is interested in exists here or whether it connects to a graduate program. That must be verified program by program.
And one clarification worth making now: Hardin-Simmons University is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Those are three different designations, with different histories, and none of the three applies here. That says nothing about how well it serves a Latino community, how many cultural centers it has, or how your child will feel on that campus. You have to ask about that directly by speaking with someone who currently studies there.
The actual size of this community
Hardin-Simmons had 1,655 students enrolled in the most recent official count. It is medium-sized—neither one of the large schools nor one of the small ones—compared with similar selective private schools. But that number is misleading if you do not break it down: 1,283 are undergraduates and 372 are graduate students. If your child is just entering a bachelor's degree program, the number that matters is 1,283, not the total.
Here is a figure worth pausing to read carefully: 26 out of every 100 undergraduate students were reported as Hispanic or Latino. That is at least one in four. And compared with nearly one thousand similar selective private schools reporting the same data, Hardin-Simmons is among those reporting the highest share. Nine out of ten schools in that group reported the same figure or a lower one.
Put plainly: being Latino on this campus would not be the exception.
But I want to be honest with you about what this figure does not tell you. Counting how many students there are is not the same as serving that community well. The data do not tell you whether there is a counselor who speaks Spanish, whether targeted tutoring is available, or whether those students complete their degrees. And it is the percentage for the entire school, not for the specific major your child is interested in. A high number opens the door to the right question; it does not answer it for you.
The rest of the student community is almost evenly divided between men and women—51 out of every 100 are women—with very few adult students ages 25 to 64 (6 out of every 100), and the great majority, 96 out of every 100 new students, came from Texas when they applied.
How the academic year is organized and how broad the offerings are
The calendar follows a semester system: two long terms of approximately 15 weeks each. The school accepts credit from AP exams, but it did not indicate that it awards credit for life experience. Saying that it accepts AP does not mean it automatically awards credit for every exam: we do not know what scores it requires or how many credits it awards. Request the transfer-credit evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for majors: in the most recently reported year, the university awarded 280 bachelor's degrees across 18 fields of study. The largest field was business and management, with 23 out of every 100 degrees—a notable share, but far from dominating the whole institution. No other academic field even comes close to 30%. The offerings are broad and distributed, rather than the school being built around a single specialty. Eighteen fields represented in the report do not necessarily mean 18 complete majors or the entire current catalog: verify the exact program your child is interested in.
Regarding class size, the reported ratio is 15 students for every full-time-equivalent faculty member. That figure places it in the middle range when compared with the overall scale, but when compared only with similar selective private schools, it falls in the top quarter: three out of four similar schools reported the same ratio or a lower one. Both interpretations are true at the same time. And neither tells you the actual size of a first-year class: that is not included in this data point.
The institution also reports specific structured pathways: study abroad, preparation for teacher certification below the college level, and state approval for initial teacher-certification programs. If your child's major involves education, it is worth asking about this directly.
Getting in: what they require and what they do not
This is one of the most important pieces, so let us take it slowly.
Hardin-Simmons stated that it does not have open admissions: it reviews application materials before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marked three as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, and an English-proficiency exam for applicants who need one. Other materials are not required but are considered if submitted: class rank, the program of study completed, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or skills exam, and whether a family member attended the school. That last item—known as legacy—is something your child cannot change. If it does not apply, do not spend energy on it; spend that energy on what is within your child's control.
The published application fee is $0.
Now, the figure you are probably most interested in: out of 2,452 first-time applicants, the university offered admission to 2,367. That is 97 out of every 100. Compared with nearly one thousand similar selective private schools, Hardin-Simmons is among those accepting the highest share. Your child's energy in this process is better spent completing the application on time than worrying about competing for a place.
But this is where I have to tell you something plainly: being easy to get into does not mean it is inexpensive or that most students finish. Of those admitted, only 15 out of every 100 ultimately enrolled that fall. In other words, out of every 7 students who receive a "yes," roughly one decides to attend. Do not read that as a mark against the school—the records do not say why each person made their decision—but do not ignore it either: wait for your own net-price letter before deciding whether this school stays on the list.
Regarding standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Among those who did submit SAT scores (29 out of every 100 enrolled students), the middle half scored between 480 and 600 in reading and writing and between 488 and 590 in mathematics. These numbers are for students who actually enrolled, not all applicants, and they do not prove that the score determined any admission decision.
One figure deserves your attention if transferring becomes part of the conversation: among the bachelor's-degree-seeking cohort that entered in 2017, 31 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing here within the expected time. That is a high proportion compared with similar schools. And here is something almost no one explains: a student who transfers and finishes a degree elsewhere does not count as a graduate of this school. Keep that in mind when you reach the graduation section.
The listed price and what it may actually cost you
At Hardin-Simmons University, among 65 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $14,534. Among 48 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $18,485; among 131 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $26,442. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents' income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (65 students) and the highest-income band (131 students) is $11,908. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $21,321.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this data with the same period coverage, this one falls within the least expensive quarter for lower-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it is inexpensive for your family. It is a data point that carries weight when you build the list of schools to which your child will apply.
None of these figures is a quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the aid letter you receive. In the meantime, use the net-price calculator on the school's website.
How this is paid for in practice
Nearly everyone here receives something: 99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid, with an average of $24,242 among those who received it. That is real money, but it is not a price: the average includes students who received much more and students who received much less. What determines the decision is not the size of the discount but the number left afterward: how much your family would have to pay out of pocket.
Out of every 100 students, 39 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income families.
Now for the part that needs to be said plainly: 83 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the most recently reported year. That is among the highest proportions at similar selective private schools. Here, leaving with federal debt is common, not the exception. Among those who borrowed, the average was $6,699 in that academic year. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years, the total would be around $26,796, not including interest—and that number is decided before the first signature, not at the end.
The fact that borrowing is common here does not determine whether your child will need to borrow. That depends on their own aid letter and the difference between the net price and what your family can pay. And this average includes only federal loans in the student's name: it does not include Parent PLUS loans signed by parents, bank debt, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt students have when they graduate; that would require adding all four years, and that number is not in this report.
The institution also reports offering an installment tuition-payment plan, if that helps you manage monthly cash flow.
Campus life, athletics, and the support the school reports
Hardin-Simmons does have its own housing, and it is not required for all first-time, full-time students—although that does not mean no program requires it; ask about yours. It also offers meal plans, with the number of meals varying according to the plan selected. IPEDS reports a maximum housing capacity of 1,180 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee that a bed will be available: ask for the annual rate, the application deadline, and whether you are guaranteed a place or placed on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, the university did not indicate any opportunity in its most recent report—not in the general field or for any of the three military branches. Of nearly 1,800 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 did indicate one. This institution was not among them. That does not prove there is no nearby pathway—it means only that none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to you, ask admissions about it directly before ruling it out.
In athletics, it does compete at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported teams in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track. This affiliation belongs to the school, not to your child: if your child is interested in competing, contact the coach directly to learn whether a place is available, what division that sport competes in, and whether athletic scholarships are available.
It also offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although only 3 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their courses that way; the other 97 take at least one class in person. The library has employed staff, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary lending, with annual spending that exceeds the $100,000 threshold recorded by the government. And its reported services include combined academic and career counseling, a job board for current students, placement services after program completion, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for military families, and a services webpage for people with disabilities. None of these reports tells you how well the services work in practice; you have to ask about that directly.
Persistence and graduation: the article's hardest figure
This is where I ask you to read slowly, because it is the part that carries the most weight when making a decision.
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022 as first-time, full-time students, 65 out of every 100 were still enrolled here or had already graduated one year later. Compared with similar selective private schools, this figure falls near the bottom: seven out of ten similar schools retained a higher proportion. The data do not tell you whether the others transferred, took a break, or followed another path. Low retention does not mean that someone gave up.
And the graduation figure, the one that truly defines the arc of this story: of the 454 students who entered a bachelor's degree program in 2017 as first-time, full-time students, 225 had earned a degree from this school six years later. That is 50 out of every 100. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 39 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, it ranks below the middle of the group: more than half of those schools reported a higher proportion of graduates.
Put plainly: six years later, half of that cohort had a bachelor's degree from this institution and half did not. It is almost an even split. Remember what we saw earlier: a student who transfers and graduates from another school does not appear in this count as a graduate, even if they completed their degree elsewhere. The number does not explain the reasons behind each case, but it does tell you something real about the path a typical student takes at this university. Before deciding, ask what specific support the school offers to help students finish and how long it actually takes to complete the degree your child is interested in.
A broader eight-year window follows another cohort that entered in 2015–16: 52 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this institution by the August 2023 cutoff. Among students who received a Pell Grant, the figure was 50 out of every 100, four points below the group without Pell. Compared with similar schools, this eight-year proportion falls in the bottom quarter. IPEDS also reports that a percentage still had not earned a credential here and might have been enrolled elsewhere, but the definition of the data contains an internal contradiction that makes it impossible to state precisely how many were still studying at the exact cutoff. This number is not a bill and does not measure eight years of continuous study: before signing, ask in writing how long it takes to complete the program your child is interested in and how the total cost changes if it takes longer.
What you now know and what remains yours to build
You now know one real part of Hardin-Simmons University: who makes up its community, how open its admissions door is, how much it costs on paper and how much it has cost on average for families similar to yours, and what happens after a student enrolls—how many stay, how many leave, and how many finish.
None of these figures decides for you. The data are firm ground beneath your feet; they are not the complete map. What your child wants to study and what they have already built to get here are still missing. So are what your family can pay and what it is willing to pay once you have the actual letter in hand. From that combination—this university, your child, and your family—comes a plan that no federal report can write for you.
What falls to you is this: verify before deciding, request in writing what remains an open question here, and support your child without carrying their part or leaving them to carry yours alone. What falls to your child is their effort, their curiosity, and the direction of their own life.
Source note: the information in this article comes from official reports from the U.S. Department of Education's IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), corresponding to different years and periods as indicated in the text. Best College Aid does not represent Hardin-Simmons University or any government agency; this article is an informational explanation, not an official communication from the institution.