Worked example · Conroe
Two years at Lone Star College-Montgomery, then two years at Sam Houston State University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, Lone Star College lab and repeat-course fees, SHSU distance, lab, University Center / MITC, Bearkat Bundle, and parking charges, 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) · Alvin Community College → UHCL · College of the Mainland → UHCL (Texas City).
The question
A Conroe resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at Sam Houston State University, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Fall 2026 / Spring 2027, 15 hours Total Cost. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Lone Star College-Montgomery at the published In-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at SHSU. This page prints two Path B maps: LSC In-District (default) and LSC Out-of-District. Does either map show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Lone Star College-Montgomery with SHSU because the Montgomery campus sits in Conroe and SHSU is the nearest public university on that Montgomery County / Huntsville corridor. SHSU lists Lone Star College as a transfer partner and states its own transfer criteria on its Transfer Partnerships page — context and link-out only. Read SHSU's page directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. Lone Star College → SHSU for Huntsville ISD / New Waverly ISD is a separate Huntsville sibling that defaults to Out-of-District. Lone Star College In-District → UH is a separate Kingwood sibling.
Lone Star College Board Policy I.A.1.03 puts Conroe ISD inside LSC's taxing boundaries. That is the default cell — In-District $1,665 / 15 SCH ($111 per SCH). Out-of-District is the alternate map for Texas residents outside those boundaries (for example Montgomery ISD) — $3,735 / 15 SCH ($249 per SCH). Confirm your own residency with Lone Star College. This page does not claim any specific address. Out-of-State / International is a warning row — $4,695 / 15 SCH ($313 per SCH). Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve an SHSU 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
Conroe ISD residents pay Lone Star College In-District rates. Conroe ISD is inside LSC taxing boundaries. Confirm residency with Lone Star College.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Lone Star College, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees, In-District, 15 credit hours | $1,665 per semester | Default cell. Conroe ISD is inside LSC taxing boundaries. Published $111 × 15 = $1,665. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,665 × 4 = $6,660. Lab fees vary by course and are omitted. No separate mandatory fees on this row. |
| Lone Star College, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees, Out-of-District Texas Resident, 15 credit hours | $3,735 per semester | Alternate map. Texas residents outside LSC taxing boundaries (for example Montgomery ISD). Published $249 × 15 = $3,735. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $3,735 × 4 = $14,940. 2+2 = $14,940 + $22,740 = $37,680 (gap $7,800). |
| Lone Star College, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees, International/Out-of-State, 15 credit hours | $4,695 per semester | Warning only. Published $313 × 15 = $4,695. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a combined non-resident 2+2. |
| Sam Houston State University, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Fall 2026 / Spring 2027, 15 hours Total Cost | $5,685 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Two years = $5,685 × 4 = $22,740; eight semesters = $5,685 × 8 = $45,480. University Center, distance, Bearkat Bundle, and parking charges are omitted. |
| SHSU Undergraduate Nonresident, Fall 2026 / Spring 2027, 15 hours | $12,105 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: LSC lab fees (vary by course) and LSC repeat-course fee $60/SCH; SHSU University Center (Montgomery College / The Woodlands) classes +$75/SCH; distance learning $101/SCH; Bearkat Bundle $24.75/SCH (opt-out); excessive hours $168/SCH. The Guaranteed Tuition Price Plan exists as an opt-in — no figure is used here. Rates change; check Lone Star College and SHSU pages before enrolling.
Sources retrieved November 11, 2026: Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services. All sources
Lone Star College-Montgomery → SHSU versus eight SHSU semesters
Both maps use the same SHSU Undergraduate Texas Resident $5,685 cell. The In-District map is the Conroe default. Confirm residency with Lone Star College.
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| In-District: Lone Star College 60-hour path ($1,665 × 4 = $6,660) + 2 SHSU Resident years ($5,685 × 4 = $22,740) | $6,660 + $22,740 = $29,400 |
| Out-of-District: Lone Star College 60-hour path ($3,735 × 4 = $14,940) + 2 SHSU years ($22,740) | $14,940 + $22,740 = $37,680 |
| 8 SHSU Undergraduate Texas Resident semesters ($5,685 × 8) | $45,480 |
| In-District difference in these published lines | $16,080 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
| Out-of-District difference in these published lines | $7,800 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved November 11, 2026: Lone Star College; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Lone Star College rate that actually applies is the one you confirm with LSC. In-District 15 hours is $1,665 ($111 per SCH) when Conroe ISD is inside LSC taxing boundaries — the default. Out-of-District 15 hours is $3,735 ($249 per SCH). Out-of-State / International 15 hours is $4,695 ($313 per SCH). We do not claim any specific address.
- SHSU 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 an SHSU seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. SHSU sets its own transfer admission criteria. Read SHSU'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 SHSU Undergraduate Texas Resident Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 $5,685 cell. University Center / MITC courses +$75/SCH, distance learning $101/SCH, Bearkat Bundle $24.75/SCH (opt-out), and excessive hours $168/SCH are not in that Total Cost.
- You do not add extra semesters at university rates. Extra semesters, University Center, distance, Bearkat Bundle, or excessive-hour fees shrink or erase the sticker gap. Rates change; check the current Lone Star College and SHSU pages before enrolling.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, parking, LSC lab fees, LSC repeat-course fees, SHSU distance, lab, University Center / MITC, Bearkat Bundle, 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 11, 2026.
Sources retrieved November 11, 2026: Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services; Sam Houston State University Student Account 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.