Worked example · Beaumont / Jefferson County
Two years at Lamar Institute of Technology, then two years at Lamar University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, course fees, lab fees, property deposit, 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 · OC → UTPB · VC → TAMUV · TC → TAMUT · Vernon → MSU · Cisco → ASU · Blinn → TAMU · GC → UHCL · CTC → TAMUCT · AC → SFA.
The question
A Beaumont / Southeast Texas resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at the Lamar University Texas-resident traditional 15 SCH line. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Lamar Institute of Technology at the published Texas Resident rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at Lamar University. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair LIT with Lamar University because they sit in the same city and official partner / transfer-pathway pages exist as context only — not a PathMax admission promise and not invented articulation dollars. LIT publishes Texas Resident versus Non-Texas Resident only. There is no county in-district column, so we do not invent one. The default LIT cell is the Fall 2025 / Spring 2026 15-SCH Total Texas Resident line. Property deposit, parking, books, and lab or program fees are omitted from that cell. Non-Texas Resident 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 Lamar University seat. Admission is not guaranteed. Do not merge that language with TEC §51.8035.
Published rates used
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Lamar Institute of Technology, Texas Resident, Fall 2025 / Spring 2026, 15 SCH Total Texas Resident | $1,770 per semester | Default cell. Published table: Tuition $1,200 + Institutional Services $465 + Student Services $75 + Student Center $30 = $1,770. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not an LIT printed 60-hour total: $1,770 × 4 = $7,080.00. Property deposit, parking, books, and lab or program fees are omitted. |
| Lamar Institute of Technology, Non-Texas Resident, Fall 2025 / Spring 2026, 15 SCH Total Non-Texas Resident | $7,845 per semester | Warning only. Not the default cell. Same published table. |
| Lamar University, Texas Resident undergraduate traditional Resident Rates, Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, 15 SCH Total Tuition & Fees | $5,447.00 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Published traditional Resident Rates: Total Tuition $3,892.35 + Total Fees $1,554.65 = $5,447.00. Two years = $5,447.00 × 4 = $21,788.00; four years = $5,447.00 × 8 = $43,576.00. |
| Lamar University, Non-Resident Rates, 15 SCH Total Tuition & Fees | $11,867.00 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| Lamar University Tuition Lock, Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, 15 SCH Total Tuition & Fees | $5,824.10 per semester | Footnote / alternate only. Opt-in four-year lock. LU says if a student does not apply, they are charged the traditional price plan. Not the default cell. |
Sources retrieved September 24, 2026: Lamar Institute of Technology; Lamar University; Lamar University. All sources
Lamar Institute of Technology → Lamar University versus four years at Lamar University
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| LIT Texas Resident 60-hour path ($1,770 × 4) + 2 LU Resident traditional years ($5,447.00 × 4) | $7,080.00 + $21,788.00 = $28,868.00 |
| 4 LU Resident traditional years at the same Fall 2026–Spring 2027 15 SCH line ($5,447.00 × 8) | $43,576.00 |
| Difference in these published lines | $14,708.00 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved September 24, 2026: Lamar Institute of Technology; Lamar University. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The LIT Texas Resident $1,770 semester actually applies. LIT publishes Texas Resident versus Non-Texas Resident only — there is no county in-district column, and we do not invent one. Non-Texas Resident 15 SCH is $7,845. That cell changes the comparison. LIT says Louisiana residents are eligible to pay in-state tuition; that is not a separate published 15-SCH column and is not the default cell.
- Lamar University 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 Lamar University seat. Admission is not guaranteed — even where LU lists partnering institutions or LIT publishes transfer pathways. Those pages are context and link-out only. 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 LU Texas-resident traditional Fall 2026–Spring 2027 $5,447.00 cell. Lab fees, program differentials, housing, meals, parking, and books are not in that total. Tuition Lock 15 SCH ($5,824.10) is an opt-in four-year lock — LU says if you do not apply you are charged traditional. It is not the default cell.
- You do not add a fifth year. Extra semesters at university rates erase the gap.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, property deposit, parking, lab fees, special course fees, and cost-of-attendance living averages are omitted. College Scorecard average annual cost is net price after grants for first-time aid recipients and does not belong in this table. Aid waivers and tuition-lock marketing are omitted. We do not invent articulation-agreement dollars from LIT→LU partner pages. Tuition Lock cohort totals are footnote only.
Sources retrieved September 24, 2026: Lamar Institute of Technology; Lamar University; Lamar University; Lamar University Admissions; Lamar Institute of Technology; 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.