Frequently Asked Questions About Applications

No, you do not. However, you need to have applied to Loyola and submitted your financial aid forms to be eligible for consideration. Only students who are admitted into Loyola, which is a process separate from the program admittance process, may be selected for participation in the Hyman Science Scholars Program.

Applications are not reviewed until the initial application deadline. We expect that the first round of acceptances for early action students will be sent in mid-January; regular decision applicants will hear by early March. Students who may be admitted to the program but have not yet been admitted to the university will hear after they’ve received their university admission. If you have not heard from us by these dates, it does not necessarily mean that you have not been selected; you may hear from us in a later round of acceptances. Even if you are not admitted to the program, you will get an email to inform you if you are waitlisted, or if you have not been accepted or waitlisted. All notifications will be sent to the email address you used to submit your application to the Hyman Science Scholars Program. Be sure to check your spam folder, or search your email for the program name if you have not heard, as sometimes these emails are incorrectly marked by your email server.

Yes. As long as one of your majors is in the Hyman Science Scholars Program, then it does not matter what your other major is, or if you take on any minors. If you decide to create an interdisciplinary major with a program major, you will also still be eligible for the program.

Yes, you can apply to both programs and if you are accepted into both you can participate in both of them. We have already had a number of Hyman Science Scholars successfully participate in both programs. The director will be in touch the summer before your first year about how your two sets of requirements will be met. These are two separate applications, however; you must apply to each directly to be considered for each program.

No, you are not making any commitments by applying. If you are admitted to the Hyman Science Scholars Program, you will then need to either accept or decline that admittance. This is separate and in addition to your decision to attend to Loyola, although of course you cannot be part of the program if you either are not admitted to Loyola or do not choose to attend Loyola University Maryland.

No, engineering is not included in the program. However, often students are not sure of their major when they first go to college. Many students interested in engineering are also interested in at least one of our Hyman Science Scholars Program majors (mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science, and data science), as each have overlap with engineering. It is possible in the first year to take courses relevant to all of these majors before the student decides. Loyola actually encourages this type of exploration, which is one of the reasons that students do not officially declare a major until the fall semester of their second year. If a student is considering any of the program majors as another option, they should still consider applying to the program.

Yes! We primarily choose Hyman Science Scholars based on their academic achievements, and only after that analysis do we determine what type of monetary support to offer in addition to a place in the Scholars program. A scholar’s financial need is determined by the Financial Aid office. If you are accepted to the program, you will receive a letter inviting you to the program and noting if you will receive financial aid as part of the scholars program. The details of the financial aid package will be received from financial aid separately.

Each spring semester we will open applications to current first-year students if there are any open spots in the program. The majority of students are admitted when they apply to Loyola, so if you are an incoming student interested in the Hyman Science Scholars Program please apply now instead of waiting. Current first-year students who have taken courses required for the program majors will receive a special link in email to apply if they are interested, usually in March during their first year. However, financial aid for current first year students who apply to the program is not guaranteed, unlike for students applying as incoming first year students who qualify for financial aid.

Students transferring from another university into a program major may be eligible to join the Hyman Science Scholars Program. Please contact the director at hss@loyola.edu to discuss and apply. Hyman Science Scholars who join as transfer students will join the cohort of students in their graduating class, and will generally begin in a probationary semester. After that probationary period is completed, if the student has met the requirements they will be formally admitted into the scholars program.

The financial aid office will determine your level of need based on the required form you fill out and turn in, such as the FAFSA. All information on the forms and deadlines can be found on the Financial Aid website. We cannot offer financial assistance as part of your admittance to the Scholars program if you do not turn in these forms in a timely manner. Your financial need is determined by the financial aid office, which then informs if you receive a program scholarship if you are admitted to the program.

Yes, we welcome Hyman Science Scholars Program applications from all students, regardless of their citizenship status. Non-US citizens are also eligible to receive the program scholarship if they demonstrate financial need.

Scholarships offered to non-US citizens accepted to the program are funded by Loyola University Maryland, not NSF.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring 2020 semester, the program committee has decided to ignore all spring 2020 grades or P/F option for students applying to the program, indefinitely. We do not feel it would be fair to take into account this semester when determining admission to our program, and therefore will ignore grades or P/F notes from this semester for all applicants, no exceptions. These grades are redacted from transcripts before applications are reviewed.