Worked example · Corpus Christi
Two years at Del Mar College, then two years at TAMU-CC
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, course 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 · 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.
The question
A Corpus Christi–area Texas resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: enter Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi as a freshman and stay four years. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Del Mar College at the District Residents rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at TAMU-CC. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Del Mar College with TAMU-CC because they sit in the same metro and TAMU-CC publishes a usable All Other Colleges 15-semester- credit-hour Annual Plan line. The default Del Mar cell is District Residents, 15 semester credit hours. Out of District is a warning, not the default cell. Texas Direct is credit application plus a THECB associate degree under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a TAMU-CC seat. Admission is not guaranteed.
Published rates used
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Del Mar College, District Residents, 15 SCH (Summer and Fall 2026 chart; catalog FY25–26) | $1,750 per semester | Default cell. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not a Del Mar printed total: $1,750 × 4 = $7,000. |
| Del Mar College, Out of District, 15 SCH | $2,500 per semester | Warning only. Not the default cell. 60-hour warning path is pack arithmetic: $2,500 × 4 = $10,000. |
| Del Mar College, Out of State / Foreign, 15 SCH | $3,055 per semester | Warning only. Same Summer and Fall 2026 chart. Not the default cell. |
| TAMU-CC, Texas-resident Annual Plan, All Other Colleges, 15 SCH (Business Office Fall 2026 / Spring 2027) | $5,253.59 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Year at 15+15 = $10,507.18; 2 years = $21,014.36; 4 years = $42,028.72. |
| TAMU-CC Annual Plan college footnotes at 15 SCH | COB $5,341.37 / CONHS $5,456.93 / COEC $5,636.54 | Footnote only. Not blended into a campus-wide average. |
| TAMU-CC Guaranteed Tuition Plan, All Other Colleges, 15 SCH | $5,504.37 per semester | Footnote only. A different cohort from the Annual Plan default. |
Sources retrieved September 9, 2026: Del Mar College; Del Mar College; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Business Office. All sources
Del Mar College → TAMU-CC versus four years at TAMU-CC
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Del Mar District Residents 60-hour path ($1,750 × 4) + 2 TAMU-CC years | $7,000 + $21,014.36 = $28,014.36 |
| 4 TAMU-CC years at the same All Other Colleges $5,253.59 line | $10,507.18 × 4 = $42,028.72 |
| Difference in these published lines | $14,014.36 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved September 9, 2026: Del Mar College; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Business Office. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The District Residents $1,750 semester actually applies to this address. Out of District 15 SCH is $2,500 and the 60-hour warning path is $10,000. Out of State / Foreign 15 SCH is $3,055. Those cells change the comparison.
- TAMU-CC 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 TAMU-CC seat. Admission is not guaranteed. 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. See Texas Direct.
- You stay on the All Other Colleges Annual Plan $5,253.59 line. College of Business is $5,341.37, College of Nursing and Health Sciences is $5,456.93, and College of Engineering and Computer Science is $5,636.54 at 15 SCH on the same Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 accordion. Guaranteed Tuition Plan All Other Colleges is $5,504.37.
- 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, and cost-of-attendance averages are omitted. We do not lock TAMU-CC Cost & Aid's undergraduate in-state tuition-and-fees estimate ($10,031 at 12+12) as the sticker cell — the Business Office Annual Plan All Other Colleges 15 SCH total is $5,253.59. College Scorecard's average annual cost is net price after grants for first-time aid recipients and does not belong in this table. Aid waivers are omitted.
Sources retrieved September 9, 2026: Del Mar College; Del Mar College; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Business Office; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Cost & Aid; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
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