Worked example · Denton
Two years at North Central Texas College, then two years at Texas Woman's University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books (including NCTC Book Fees), NCTC lab and course fees, TWU course surcharges and upper-division program-fee uplift, 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) · Ranger → Tarleton · PJC → ETAMU.
The question
A Denton resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at Texas Woman's University, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Fall 2026–Spring 2027, 15 hours tuition and fees. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at North Central Texas College at the published In-State Texas resident rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at TWU. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair NCTC with TWU because NCTC operates a Denton Campus and TWU's main campus is in Denton. TWU sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read TWU's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. Dallas College → UNT Denton and TCC → UNT Denton are separate sibling maps; this page is Denton metro → TWU, not UNT.
Texas Education Code §130.190 puts Denton County in NCTC's statutory service area but not in the Cooke County taxing district. Those residents pay the published In-State rate — the default cell on this page. Cooke County In-District is an alternate row, not the Denton default. Statute carve-outs (The Colony, Frisco, Celina / Prosper / Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISDs) may use another district — check residency with NCTC. 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 TWU 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
Denton County service-area residents outside the Cooke County taxing district pay NCTC In-State rates. Service area is not the taxing district. Check residency with NCTC.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| North Central Texas College, In-State Texas resident, 15 credit hours | $3,180 per semester | Default cell. Denton County is in NCTC's statutory service area (TEC §130.190) and outside the Cooke County taxing district. Published $212 × 15 = $3,180 ($57 tuition + $55 general use + $100 out-of-district). 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not an NCTC printed 60-hour total: $3,180 × 4 = $12,720. Book Fees $24/SCH are omitted. |
| North Central Texas College, Cooke In-District, 15 credit hours | $1,680 per semester | Alternate only. Cooke County residents. Published $112 × 15 = $1,680. Illustration: In-District 2+2 = $1,680 × 4 + $5,430 × 4 = $6,720 + $21,720 = $28,440 versus $43,440 ($15,000 lower). Not the Denton default cell. |
| North Central Texas College, Graham ISD branch, 15 credit hours | $1,980 per semester | Alternate / footnote only. Published $132 × 15 = $1,980. Not the Denton default cell. |
| North Central Texas College, Out-of-State, 15 credit hours | $4,755 per semester | Warning only. Published $317 × 15 = $4,755. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| Texas Woman's University, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Fall 2026–Spring 2027, 15 hours tuition and fees | $5,430 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. TWU Cost to Attend: Tuition $7,140/year + Fees $3,720/year = $10,860/year for 15 + 15 hours; $10,860 ÷ 2 = $5,430. Year lock: Bursar “Effective Rates Fall 2026 thru Summer 2027”; COA “Fall 2026-Spring 2027.” Two years = $5,430 × 4 = $21,720; eight semesters = $5,430 × 8 = $43,440. Bursar lower-division component build is about $5,439 ($9 above this COA aggregate). Course surcharges and the upper-division program fee are omitted. |
| Texas Woman's University, Undergraduate Nonresident, Fall 2026–Spring 2027, 15 hours | $11,730 per semester | Warning only. COA: resident $5,430 plus $6,300 (half of +$12,600/year out-of-state tuition). Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
Sources retrieved October 9, 2026: North Central Texas College; Texas Legislature; Texas Woman's University Financial Aid; Texas Woman's University Bursar. All sources
North Central Texas College → TWU versus eight TWU semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| NCTC In-State 60-hour path ($3,180 × 4) + 2 TWU Resident years ($5,430 × 4) | $12,720 + $21,720 = $34,440 |
| 8 TWU Undergraduate Texas Resident semesters at the same Fall 2026–Spring 2027 15-hour tuition-and-fees line ($5,430 × 8) | $43,440 |
| Difference in these published lines | $9,000 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 9, 2026: North Central Texas College; Texas Woman's University Financial Aid. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The NCTC In-State $3,180 semester actually applies. Denton County service-area residents outside the Cooke County taxing district pay In-State. Cooke In-District 15 hours is $1,680 and is only for Cooke County residents. Graham ISD branch 15 hours is $1,980. Out-of-State 15 hours is $4,755. Statute carve-outs (The Colony, Frisco, Celina / Prosper / Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISDs) may use another district — check residency with NCTC.
- TWU 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 TWU seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. TWU sets its own transfer criteria. Read TWU'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 TWU Undergraduate Texas Resident Fall 2026–Spring 2027 $5,430 cell. The bursar lower-division component build is about $5,439 ($9 above the published COA aggregate used here). Upper-division program fee $15/SCH (+$105 per semester versus lower) and course surcharges (Biology $25, Nursing $90, Business undergraduate $20, and others) are not in that total. Oklahoma undergraduate $268/SCH is a bursar footnote only. Do not use the Boldly Go marketing “15 hours $4,362” line — it understates mandatory fees.
- 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 (including NCTC Book Fees $24/SCH), NCTC lab and course fees, TWU course surcharges, upper-division program-fee uplift, parking, installment fees, cost-of-attendance living averages, and Zero Tuition Guarantee dollar effects are omitted. College Scorecard average annual cost does not belong in this table. We do not invent transfer-agreement dollars from TWU admissions pages.
Sources retrieved October 9, 2026: North Central Texas College; North Central Texas College; Texas Legislature; Texas Woman's University Bursar; Texas Woman's University Financial Aid; Texas Woman's University; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
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