Worked example · Fort Worth / Tarrant County
Two years at Tarrant County College, then two years at UNT Denton
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 · 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 · NCTC → TWU · TCC → UTA (Arlington).
The question
A Fort Worth–area Texas resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: enter the University of North Texas at Denton as a freshman and stay four years. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Tarrant County College at the Tarrant County rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at UNT Denton. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Tarrant County College with UNT Denton because UNT publishes one Texas-resident undergraduate tuition-and-fees line for 15 hours fall and 15 hours spring. We do not use UT Arlington as a campus-wide annual line: UTA says its average tuition-and-fees figures are for planning purposes only and are not an individual student's bill, and designated / differential tuition varies by college. Texas Direct is credit application plus a THECB associate degree under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a university seat. Admission is not guaranteed.
Published rates used
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| TCC, Tarrant County resident (Fall 2026) | $74 per semester credit hour | 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not a TCC printed total: $74 × 60 = $4,440 |
| TCC, other Texas county | $136 per semester credit hour | 60 hours × $136 = $8,160 — shown as a warning, not the default cell |
| TCC, out-of-state / foreign | $315 per semester credit hour | Not used in the default map |
| TCC third-attempt charge | +$60 per semester credit hour | Not folded into the default 60-hour cell |
| TCC parking permit | $0 | Published. Not a hidden add-on to the default cell |
| UNT Denton, Texas-resident undergraduate tuition and fees | $12,092 per academic year (15 hours per semester, Fall + Spring, 2026–2027) | 2 years = $24,184; 4 years = $48,368 |
| Texas State, Texas resident tuition and fees | $12,240 per academic year (15 + 15 hours, 2026–2027) | Optional second map: 2 years = $24,480; 4 years = $48,960 |
Sources retrieved September 8, 2026: Tarrant County College; University of North Texas (Denton); Texas State University Admissions. All sources
Tarrant County College → UNT Denton versus four years at UNT Denton
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Tarrant County 60 hours ($74 × 60) + 2 UNT years | $4,440 + $24,184 = $28,624 |
| 4 UNT years at the same annual line | $12,092 × 4 = $48,368 |
| Difference in these published lines | $19,744 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved September 8, 2026: Tarrant County College; University of North Texas (Denton). All sources
Same Tarrant County start, Texas State as the receiving public
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Tarrant County 60 hours + 2 years Texas State | $4,440 + $24,480 = $28,920 |
| 4 years Texas State at the same annual line | $12,240 × 4 = $48,960 |
| Difference in these published lines | $20,040 lower on the 2+2 map — again a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved September 8, 2026: Tarrant County College; Texas State University Admissions. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Tarrant County $74 rate actually applies to this address. TCC lists other Texas-county residents at $136 per credit hour. 60 hours at that rate is $8,160, which changes the comparison. Out-of-state / foreign is $315 per hour.
- The 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 seat. Admission is not guaranteed.
- The hours apply to the major. Use a completed Field of Study when THECB says it is complete. See Texas Direct.
- You do not add a fifth year. Extra semesters at university rates erase the gap.
- You are not paying TCC's extra +$60 per credit hour for a third attempt. That charge is published; it is not in the $4,440 cell.
What we omitted on purpose
UNT's 2026–2027 undergraduate cost-of-attendance table lists housing and food separately (for example $12,106 on campus). Texas State lists housing and food at $13,330 for 2026–2027. College Scorecard's average annual cost is net price after grants for first-time aid recipients. None of those belong in a sticker-tuition table, so they are not added here. UTA's published average tuition-and-fees line is planning-only and is not used as a campus-wide annual cell.
Sources retrieved September 8, 2026: University of North Texas (Denton); Texas State University Admissions; The University of Texas at Arlington Financial Aid and Scholarships; 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.