Worked example · Huntsville
Two years at Lone Star College, 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 · Blinn → Prairie View A&M · LSC → UH (Kingwood).
The question
A Huntsville 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 at the published Out-of-District Texas Resident rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at SHSU. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Lone Star College with SHSU because 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 Board Policy I.A.1.03 puts Huntsville ISD and New Waverly ISD (Walker County) in LSC's service area but outside its taxing boundaries. Those residents pay the published Out-of-District Texas Resident rate — the default cell on this page. In-District applies only to Texas residents inside LSC taxing boundaries (for example Conroe ISD or Willis ISD), plus other listed in-district categories. That In-District cell is an alternate row, not the Huntsville default. Lone Star College In-District → UH is a separate Kingwood sibling that uses the Humble ISD taxing-district rate. International / 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 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
Huntsville ISD / New Waverly ISD (Walker County) residents pay LSC Out-of-District rates. Service area is not the taxing district. The default cell below is LSC Out-of-District Texas Resident.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Lone Star College, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees, Out-of-District Texas Resident, 15 credit hours | $3,735 per semester | Default cell. Huntsville ISD / New Waverly ISD are in LSC service area and outside LSC taxing boundaries. Published $249 × 15 = $3,735. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not an LSC printed 60-hour total: $3,735 × 4 = $14,940. Lab fees vary by course and are omitted. |
| Lone Star College, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees, In-District, 15 credit hours | $1,665 per semester | Alternate only. Texas residents inside LSC taxing boundaries (for example Conroe ISD or Willis ISD). Published $111 × 15 = $1,665. Illustration: In-District 2+2 = $1,665 × 4 + $5,685 × 4 = $6,660 + $22,740 = $29,400 versus $45,480 ($16,080 lower). Not the Huntsville default cell. |
| 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. |
| Sam Houston State University, Undergraduate Texas Resident, Fall 2026 / Spring 2027, 15 hours Total Cost | $5,685 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Published 15-hour Total Cost: Tuition and Designated Tuition $3,660.00 + Institutional Services Fee $1,200.00 + Intercollegiate Athletic Fee $300.00 + Student Service Fee $250.00 + Student Center Fee $100 + Medical Fee $75 + Recreational Sports Fee $100 = $5,685.00. Two years = $5,685 × 4 = $22,740; eight semesters = $5,685 × 8 = $45,480. Distance, lab, University Center / MITC, 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. Same official Nonresident rate PDF. |
Sources retrieved October 7, 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 → SHSU versus eight SHSU semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| LSC Out-of-District 60-hour path ($3,735 × 4) + 2 SHSU Resident years ($5,685 × 4) | $14,940 + $22,740 = $37,680 |
| 8 SHSU Undergraduate Texas Resident semesters at the same Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 15-hour Total Cost line ($5,685 × 8) | $45,480 |
| Difference in these published lines | $7,800 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 7, 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 LSC Out-of-District $3,735 semester actually applies. Huntsville ISD / New Waverly ISD (Walker County) residents pay Out-of-District. In-District 15 hours is $1,665 and is only for Texas residents inside LSC taxing boundaries. International / Out-of-State 15 hours is $4,695.
- SHSU 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 an SHSU seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. SHSU's Transfer Partnerships page is context and link-out only. Read it 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. LSC/SHSU transfer plans are school advising maps, not PathMax FOS-completion claims. 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 (billed unless opted out), and excessive hours / Three Peat $168/SCH are not in that Total Cost. The Guaranteed Tuition Price Plan exists for first-time-entering Texas residents (opt-in, 12 consecutive terms) — no figure is used here.
- 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, LSC lab fees (vary by course), LSC repeat-course fee $60/SCH, SHSU distance, lab, University Center / MITC, Bearkat Bundle, parking, installment fees, and cost-of-attendance living averages are omitted. LSC 2026-2027 Cost of Attendance Tuition and Fees of In-District $3,330 / Out-of-District $7,470 / Out of State/International $9,390 is corroboration only (matches 2 × the 15-hour rows). College Scorecard average annual cost does not belong in this table. We do not invent articulation-agreement dollars from SHSU transfer partnerships.
Sources retrieved October 7, 2026: Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services; Sam Houston State University Student Account Services; Sam Houston State University; Sam Houston State University; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
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