Worked example · Alvin
Two years at Alvin Community College, then two years at the University of Houston–Clear Lake
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, food, books, parking, course and lab fees, and financial aid are omitted because mixing them in without a family's FAFSA is how directories invent savings. This is a published-price map, not a named state program.
Siblings: Austin ACC → Texas State / UT Austin · Houston HCC → Texas State · Dallas College → UNT Denton · Alamo Colleges → UTSA · TCC → UNT Denton · EPCC → UTEP · SPC → Texas Tech · Del Mar → TAMU-CC · TJC → UT Tyler · AC → WTAMU · STC → UTRGV · TSC → UTRGV · LC → TAMIU · MCC → TAMUCT · LIT → LU · OC → UTPB · VC → TAMUV · TC → TAMUT · Vernon → MSU · Cisco → ASU · Blinn → TAMU · GC → UHCL · CTC → TAMUCT · AC → SFA · LSC → SHSU · ACC → TXST (San Marcos) · NCTC → TWU · Ranger → Tarleton · PJC → ETAMU (Commerce) · San Jacinto → UHCL · TCC → UTA (Arlington) · Dallas College → UT Dallas · Blinn → Prairie View A&M · Alamo → A&M–San Antonio · HCC → UH–Downtown · Dallas College → UNT Dallas · HCC → Texas Southern · SJC → UH · LSC → UH · Collin College → UT Dallas · Kilgore College → UT Tyler · Grayson College → UNT (Denton) · WCJC → UH (Sugar Land) · Navarro College → ETAMU · PJC → ETAMU (Paris) · Lee College → UHCL (Baytown) · Brazosport College → UHCL (Lake Jackson).
The question
An Alvin resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at the University of Houston–Clear Lake, College of Education Resident Undergraduate Total, Academic Year 2026–2027, 15 hours. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Alvin Community College at the published In-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at UHCL. This page prints two Path B maps: Alvin Community College In-District (default) and Alvin Community College Out-of-District. Does either map show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Alvin Community College with UHCL because ACC sits in Alvin and UHCL is the nearest University of Houston campus on that east Harris / Clear Lake corridor. UHCL rates vary by college; this page locks the same College of Education Resident UG Total 15 SCH cell already used on the Galveston, Clear Lake, Baytown, and Lake Jackson siblings — $4,562.70 per semester. Brazosport College → UHCL is a separate Lake Jackson sibling. Lee College → UHCL is a separate Baytown sibling. San Jacinto → UHCL is a separate Clear Lake sibling that defaults to San Jacinto Out-of-District. Galveston College → UHCL is a separate Galveston sibling. UHCL sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read UHCL's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise.
Alvin Community College's 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees page defines In-District as an address on file that pays property taxes to Alvin College. Check the Brazoria County Appraisal District Property Taxing Jurisdiction list; if the address is not listed, the rate is Out-of-District. That is the default cell — $1,136 / 15 SCH (In-District tuition $51/SCH). Out-of-District is the alternate map — $1,901 / 15 SCH (Out-of-District tuition $102/SCH). Confirm your own address with Alvin Community College. This page does not claim any specific address and does not claim all of Brazoria County is in-district. Non-Resident is a warning row — $2,696 / 15 SCH (Non-Resident tuition $155/SCH). Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a UHCL seat. Admission is not guaranteed. Do not merge that language with TEC §51.8035. 2+2 is not a named state program.
Published rates used
Alvin residents whose address on file pays property tax to Alvin College pay In-District rates. Confirm the address with Alvin Community College and the Brazoria County Appraisal District list.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Alvin Community College, Resident In-District, 15 credit hours (2026-2027 Tuition & Fees table) | $1,136 per semester | Default cell. Official 15-SCH total. In-District tuition is $51/SCH. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,136 × 4 = $4,544. This page uses ACC's published per-semester 15-hour table, not an ACC annual cost-of-attendance line. |
| Alvin Community College, Resident Out-of-District, 15 credit hours (2026-2027) | $1,901 per semester | Alternate map. Official 15-SCH total. Out-of-District tuition is $102/SCH. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,901 × 4 = $7,604. 2+2 = $7,604 + $18,250.80 = $25,854.80 (gap $10,646.80). |
| Alvin Community College, Non-Resident, 15 credit hours (2026-2027) | $2,696 per semester | Warning only. Official 15-SCH total. Non-Resident tuition is $155/SCH. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a combined non-resident 2+2. |
| University of Houston–Clear Lake, Academic Year 2026–2027 Tuition and Fees Table, College of Education Resident Undergraduate Total (R-UG TOTAL), 15 SCH | $4,562.70 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Same Education R-UG TOTAL as the Galveston, Clear Lake, Baytown, and Lake Jackson siblings. Two years = $4,562.70 × 4 = $18,250.80; eight semesters = $4,562.70 × 8 = $36,501.60. |
| UHCL Academic Year 2026–2027, College of Education NR/F UG TOTAL, 15 SCH | $12,827.70 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a combined non-resident 2+2. |
Footnote only — not in the sticker: course/lab/technical fees, online or hybrid charges, books, and third-attempt surcharges. Other UHCL resident 15 SCH totals — College of Science and Engineering / Human Sciences and Humanities $4,637.70; Business $4,757.70; Fixed Rate $4,930.20 — cost more than the Education $4,562.70 cell. Rates change; check Alvin Community College and UHCL pages before enrolling.
Sources retrieved November 9, 2026: Alvin Community College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services. All sources
Alvin Community College → UHCL versus eight UHCL semesters
Both maps use the same UHCL College of Education Resident $4,562.70 cell. The In-District map is the Alvin default. Confirm the address with Alvin Community College.
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| In-District: Alvin Community College 60-hour path ($1,136 × 4 = $4,544) + 2 UHCL College of Education Resident years ($4,562.70 × 4 = $18,250.80) | $4,544 + $18,250.80 = $22,794.80 |
| Out-of-District: Alvin Community College 60-hour path ($1,901 × 4 = $7,604) + 2 UHCL years ($18,250.80) | $7,604 + $18,250.80 = $25,854.80 |
| 8 UHCL College of Education Resident semesters ($4,562.70 × 8) | $36,501.60 |
| In-District difference in these published lines | $13,706.80 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
| Out-of-District difference in these published lines | $10,646.80 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved November 9, 2026: Alvin Community College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Alvin Community College rate that actually applies is the one you confirm with ACC. In-District 15 hours is $1,136 ($51/SCH tuition) when the address on file pays property tax to Alvin College — the default. Out-of-District 15 hours is $1,901 ($102/SCH tuition). Non-Resident 15 hours is $2,696 ($155/SCH tuition). We do not claim any specific address and do not claim all of Brazoria County is in-district.
- UHCL admits you as a transfer student. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under TEC §61.834. It does not reserve a UHCL seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. UHCL sets its own transfer admission criteria. Read UHCL's pages directly. Do not merge that credit / associate language with TEC §51.8035.
- The hours apply to the major. Use a completed Field of Study when THECB says it is complete. Computer Science, Biology, English, Architecture, and Engineering are not completed Texas Direct blocks on the THECB table we last fetched — do not treat them as one. See Texas Direct.
- You stay on the UHCL College of Education Resident UG Total 2026–2027 $4,562.70 cell. Other UHCL colleges and Fixed Rate cost more. Course/program fees can raise the line.
- You do not add extra semesters at university rates. Extra semesters, higher-cost UHCL colleges, Fixed Rate, or course/program fees shrink or erase the sticker gap. Rates change; check the current Alvin Community College and UHCL pages before enrolling.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, parking, lab/program/college fees, cost-of-attendance living averages, College Scorecard, Net Price Calculator outputs, aid, and earnings are omitted. This is arithmetic on published price lists, not a quote from a bursar.
Sources retrieved November 9, 2026.
Sources retrieved November 9, 2026: Alvin Community College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
Directory pages stay free. Published by Plain Steps. Optional $19 Texas Direct 2+2 worksheet.