Worked example · Arlington
Two years at Tarrant County College, then two years at the University of Texas at Arlington
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, course and lab fees beyond the published Total, parking, 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 · San Jacinto → UHCL · 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.
The question
An Arlington / Tarrant County resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at the University of Texas at Arlington, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Academic Year 2026/2027, 15 hours. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Tarrant County College at the published Tarrant County In-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at UTA. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Tarrant County College with UTA because Arlington is inside the Tarrant County taxing district and UTA's campus is in Arlington. UTA sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read UTA's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. Fort Worth TCC → UNT Denton is a separate sibling map that uses the same TCC Tarrant County rate with a different receiving university.
Arlington is inside the Tarrant County taxing district, so the published Tarrant County (In-District) rate is the default cell on this page — the same convention as the Fort Worth TCC page. Other-Texas-county Out-of-District is an alternate row. Out-of-state / foreign is a warning row. Texas Direct is credit application plus a THECB associate degree under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a UTA 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
Arlington / Tarrant County residents pay TCC In-District rates. Check residency with TCC.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Tarrant County College, Tarrant County resident (In-District), 15 credit hours | $1,110 per semester | Default cell. Arlington is inside the Tarrant County taxing district. Official rate table $74 × 15 = $1,110. FY2026 and FY2027 estimated-program-cost PDFs lock the same 15 SCH $1,110 and 60 SCH AA $4,440. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,110 × 4 = $4,440. Do not use the why-choose marketing “approximate” ~$1,140 15-hour line. |
| Tarrant County College, other Texas county (Out-of-District), 15 credit hours | $2,040 per semester | Alternate only. Published $136 × 15 = $2,040. Illustration: Out-of-District 2+2 = $2,040 × 4 + $5,808 × 4 = $8,160 + $23,232 = $31,392. Not the Arlington / Tarrant County default cell. |
| Tarrant County College, out-of-state / foreign, 15 credit hours | $4,725 per semester | Warning only. Published $315 × 15 = $4,725. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| University of Texas at Arlington, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Academic Year 2026/2027, 15 credit hours Total | $5,808.00 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Official UG Resident PDF 15 SCH Total $5,808.00. Two years = $5,808 × 4 = $23,232; eight semesters = $5,808 × 8 = $46,464. This is the published 15-hour Total row, not the FAO average-cost planning cell. Course and lab fees beyond that Total, parking, and housing are omitted. |
| University of Texas at Arlington, Undergraduate Nonresident, Academic Year 2026/2027, 15 credit hours Total | $14,894.00 per semester | Warning only. Official UG Nonresident PDF 15 SCH Total. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
Sources retrieved October 15, 2026: Tarrant County College; Tarrant County College; Tarrant County College; The University of Texas at Arlington Student Accounts; The University of Texas at Arlington Student Accounts. All sources
Tarrant County College → UTA versus eight UTA semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| TCC Tarrant County In-District 60-hour path ($1,110 × 4) + 2 UTA Undergraduate Texas Resident years ($5,808 × 4) | $4,440 + $23,232 = $27,672.00 |
| 8 UTA Undergraduate Texas Resident semesters at the same AY 2026/2027 15 SCH Total line ($5,808 × 8) | $46,464.00 |
| Difference in these published lines | $18,792.00 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 15, 2026: Tarrant County College; The University of Texas at Arlington Student Accounts. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The TCC Tarrant County In-District $1,110 semester actually applies. Arlington is inside the Tarrant County taxing district. Other Texas county 15 hours is $2,040. Out-of-state / foreign 15 hours is $4,725. Check residency with TCC.
- UTA admits you as a transfer student. Texas Direct is credit application and, when Core plus Field of Study are complete, a THECB associate degree (TEC §61.834). It does not reserve a UTA seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. UTA sets its own transfer criteria. Read UTA'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 UTA Undergraduate Texas Resident AY 2026/2027 $5,808.00 cell. Course and lab fees beyond that published Total can raise the UTA line. Do not substitute the FAO average-cost planning figure.
- You do not add extra semesters at university rates. Extra semesters erase the sticker gap.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, course and lab fees beyond the published Total, parking, installment fees, cost-of-attendance living averages, and aid/scholarship dollar effects are omitted. The TCC why-choose marketing “approximate” ~$1,140 15-hour in-county line is not the default. College Scorecard average annual cost does not belong in this table. We do not invent transfer-agreement dollars from UTA admissions pages.
Sources retrieved October 15, 2026: Tarrant County College; Tarrant County College; Tarrant County College; The University of Texas at Arlington Student Accounts; The University of Texas at Arlington Student Accounts; The University of Texas at Arlington Student Accounts; 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.