Worked example · Clear Lake
Two years at San Jacinto College, then two years at University of Houston–Clear Lake
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, course materials, UHCL course and program fees beyond the PDF 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 · 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.
The question
A Clear Lake resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at 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 San Jacinto College at the published Out-of-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at UHCL. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair San Jacinto College with UHCL because San Jacinto serves the east Harris / Clear Lake corridor where UHCL sits, including Clear Lake and Central (Pasadena) campuses. 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. Galveston College → UHCL is a separate sibling map for Galveston Island. Houston Community College → Texas State is a separate Houston sibling. This page is San Jacinto → UHCL for Clear Lake / Pasadena.
Texas Education Code §130.197 puts the Harris County portion of Clear Creek ISD in San Jacinto's statutory service area but not on the college's published taxing-district ISD list (Channelview, Deer Park, Galena Park, La Porte, Pasadena, Sheldon). Those Clear Lake / Clear Creek Harris residents pay the published Out-of-District rate — the default cell on this page. Pasadena and other listed taxing-district cities pay In-District as an alternate row, not the Clear Lake default. Check residency with San Jacinto. Out-of-State 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 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
Clear Lake / Clear Creek ISD (Harris County) service-area residents outside the San Jacinto taxing district pay Out-of-District rates. Service area is not the taxing district. Check residency with San Jacinto.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| San Jacinto College, Out-of-District, 15 credit hours (2026–2027 catalog) | $2,160 per semester | Default cell. Clear Lake / Clear Creek ISD Harris County is in San Jacinto's statutory service area (TEC §130.197) and outside the published taxing district. Published $144 × 15 = $2,160. Official simplified model: Fees $0 (the per-credit rate includes student fees). 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not a San Jacinto-printed 60-hour total: $2,160 × 4 = $8,640. Books and materials are omitted. |
| San Jacinto College, Pasadena / taxing-district In-District, 15 credit hours (2026–2027 catalog) | $1,245 per semester | Alternate only. Channelview, Deer Park, Galena Park, La Porte, Pasadena, and Sheldon ISD taxing-district residents. Published $83 × 15 = $1,245. Illustration: In-District 2+2 = $1,245 × 4 + $4,562.70 × 4 = $4,980 + $18,250.80 = $23,230.80 versus $36,501.60 ($13,270.80 lower). Not the Clear Lake default cell. |
| San Jacinto College, Out-of-State / International, 15 credit hours (2026–2027 catalog) | $3,345 per semester | Warning only. Published $223 × 15 = $3,345. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| 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. Lowest published college R-UG TOTAL at 15 SCH on that PDF (same default cell as the Galveston → UHCL sibling — intentional apples-to-apples). Published Education line: RES UG $750 + TUI DESUG $2,940 + ST SVC $264.60 + INFO RES $348 + REC WELL $133.10 + EXT ACC $63 + INT EDU $4 + ST CENT $30 + ACDM RCRD $30 = $4,562.70. Two years = $4,562.70 × 4 = $18,250.80; eight semesters = $4,562.70 × 8 = $36,501.60. Housing, meals, books, parking, and course fees beyond the PDF Total are omitted. |
| 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. Same official Tuition and Fees Table PDF. |
| UHCL Academic Year 2026–2027 R-UG TOTAL 15 SCH — College of Science and Engineering / Human Sciences and Humanities, Business, Fixed Rate (Ed/Bus/CSE) | $4,637.70 / $4,757.70 / $4,930.20 per semester | Footnote only. CSE/HSH $4,637.70, Business $4,757.70, Fixed Rate $4,930.20. College differentials and Fixed Rate above the Education Resident UG Total. Do not swap them into the default cell. |
Sources retrieved October 14, 2026: San Jacinto College; San Jacinto College; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services. All sources
San Jacinto College → UHCL versus eight UHCL semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| San Jacinto Out-of-District 60-hour path ($2,160 × 4) + 2 UHCL College of Education Resident years ($4,562.70 × 4) | $8,640 + $18,250.80 = $26,890.80 |
| 8 UHCL College of Education Resident semesters at the same Academic Year 2026–2027 Resident UG Total 15 SCH line ($4,562.70 × 8) | $36,501.60 |
| Difference in these published lines | $9,610.80 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 14, 2026: San Jacinto College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The San Jacinto Out-of-District $2,160 semester actually applies. Clear Lake / Clear Creek ISD (Harris County) service-area residents outside the taxing district pay Out-of-District. Pasadena / taxing-district In-District 15 hours is $1,245 and is only for Channelview, Deer Park, Galena Park, La Porte, Pasadena, and Sheldon ISD residents. Out-of-State 15 hours is $3,345. Check residency with San Jacinto.
- UHCL 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 UHCL seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. UHCL sets its own transfer 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. CSE/HSH 15 SCH is $4,637.70, Business is $4,757.70, and Fixed Rate is $4,930.20 — footnotes only. A transfer's major may land in a higher college table.
- 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 materials, UHCL course and program fees beyond the PDF Total, parking, installment fees, cost-of-attendance living averages, and aid/scholarship dollar effects are omitted. College Scorecard average annual cost does not belong in this table. We do not invent transfer-agreement dollars from UHCL admissions pages.
Sources retrieved October 14, 2026: San Jacinto College; San Jacinto College; San Jacinto College; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services; University of Houston–Clear Lake; 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.