Worked example · Lake Jackson
Two years at Brazosport College, then two years at the University of Houston–Clear Lake
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, food, parking, course and lab fees, and financial aid are omitted because mixing them in without a family's FAFSA is how directories invent savings. The published Brazosport 15-SCH totals already include myBC Books. 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).
The question
A Lake Jackson resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at the University of Houston–Clear Lake, College of Education Resident Undergraduate Total, Academic Year 2026–2027, 15 hours. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Brazosport College at the published In-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at UHCL. This page prints two Path B maps: Brazosport College In-District (default) and Brazosport College Out-of-District. Does either map show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Brazosport College with UHCL because Brazosport College's campus is in Lake Jackson (500 College Drive) and UHCL is the nearest University of Houston campus on that east Harris / Clear Lake corridor. UHCL rates vary by college; this page locks the same College of Education Resident UG Total 15 SCH cell already used on the Galveston, Clear Lake, and Baytown siblings — $4,562.70 per semester. Lee College → UHCL is a separate Baytown sibling. San Jacinto → UHCL is a separate Clear Lake sibling that defaults to San Jacinto Out-of-District. Galveston College → UHCL is a separate Galveston sibling. UHCL sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read UHCL's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise.
Brazosport College's 2026–2027 Course Catalog Texas Residency Requirements define In-District as students who have met basic Texas residency requirements and live in the Brazosport College taxing district. A street address is required; PO boxes do not count. That is the default cell — $1,732.50 / 15 SCH for a Lake Jackson resident in that taxing district (In-District tuition $65/SCH; published In-District total $115.50/SCH, which already includes myBC Books Materials Access Fee $25/SCH). Out-of-District is the alternate map for Texas residents who live outside the Brazosport College taxing district — $2,242.50 / 15 SCH (Out-of-District tuition $99/SCH). Confirm your own street address with Brazosport College. This page does not claim any specific address and does not claim all of Brazoria County is in-district (Alvin Community College covers other Brazoria County areas). Out-of-State/International is a warning row. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a UHCL seat. Admission is not guaranteed. Do not merge that language with TEC §51.8035. 2+2 is not a named state program.
The Cashier's Office links “View the 2026-2027 Tuition Table & Course Fees” to the 2026–2027 Course Catalog Financial Information page. The published table section heading on that catalog page still reads “2025-2026 Credit Program Tuition and Fees.” This page uses that linked 15-SCH table and notes the heading quirk. Do not invent different rates. Re-check the live cashier and catalog pages before you budget.
Published rates used
Lake Jackson residents with a street address in the Brazosport College taxing district pay In-District rates. Confirm your street address with Brazosport College. PO boxes do not count.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Brazosport College, In-District, 15 credit hours (Cashier's Office–linked 2026–2027 Course Catalog tuition table; section heading still reads 2025-2026) | $1,732.50 per semester | Default cell. Official 15-SCH total. In-District tuition is $65/SCH. Catalog footnote total is $115.50/SCH. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,732.50 × 4 = $6,930. This page uses Brazosport's published per-semester 15-hour table, not a Brazosport annual cost-of-attendance line. myBC Books Materials Access Fee ($25/SCH = $375 at 15 SCH) is already in this total. |
| Brazosport College, Out-of-District, 15 credit hours (same catalog table) | $2,242.50 per semester | Alternate map. Official 15-SCH total. Out-of-District tuition is $99/SCH. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $2,242.50 × 4 = $8,970. 2+2 = $8,970 + $18,250.80 = $27,220.80 (gap $9,280.80). |
| Brazosport College, Out-of-State/International, 15 credit hours (same catalog table) | $3,052.50 per semester | Warning only. Official 15-SCH total. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a combined non-resident 2+2. |
| University of Houston–Clear Lake, Academic Year 2026–2027 Tuition and Fees Table, College of Education Resident Undergraduate Total (R-UG TOTAL), 15 SCH | $4,562.70 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Same Education R-UG TOTAL as the Galveston, Clear Lake, and Baytown siblings. Two years = $4,562.70 × 4 = $18,250.80; eight semesters = $4,562.70 × 8 = $36,501.60. |
| UHCL Academic Year 2026–2027, College of Education NR/F UG TOTAL, 15 SCH | $12,827.70 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a combined non-resident 2+2. |
Footnote only — not a change to the default: myBC Books is automatically added at registration and is already in the published $1,732.50 / $2,242.50 / $3,052.50 totals. Opt-out is available before the Official Reporting Date. If a student opts out of myBC on all 15 SCH every Brazosport semester, each community-college semester is $375 lower and In-District 2+2 becomes $23,680.80. Do not make that the default. Also not in the sticker: course/lab fees, distance/Digitex course charges, BAT 3000/4000 upper-division charges, dual-credit pricing, and testing fees. Other UHCL resident 15 SCH totals — College of Science and Engineering / Human Sciences and Humanities $4,637.70; Business $4,757.70; Fixed Rate $4,930.20 — cost more than the Education $4,562.70 cell. Rates change; check Brazosport College and UHCL pages before enrolling.
Sources retrieved November 6, 2026: Brazosport College; Brazosport College; Brazosport College; Brazosport College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services. All sources
Brazosport College → UHCL versus eight UHCL semesters
Both maps use the same UHCL College of Education Resident $4,562.70 cell. The In-District map is the Lake Jackson default. Confirm your street address with Brazosport College.
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| In-District: Brazosport College 60-hour path ($1,732.50 × 4 = $6,930) + 2 UHCL College of Education Resident years ($4,562.70 × 4 = $18,250.80) | $6,930 + $18,250.80 = $25,180.80 |
| Out-of-District: Brazosport College 60-hour path ($2,242.50 × 4 = $8,970) + 2 UHCL years ($18,250.80) | $8,970 + $18,250.80 = $27,220.80 |
| 8 UHCL College of Education Resident semesters ($4,562.70 × 8) | $36,501.60 |
| In-District difference in these published lines | $11,320.80 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
| Out-of-District difference in these published lines | $9,280.80 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved November 6, 2026: Brazosport College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Brazosport College rate that actually applies is the one you confirm with Brazosport College. In-District 15 hours is $1,732.50 ($65/SCH tuition; $115.50/SCH published total) for a Lake Jackson resident with a street address in the Brazosport College taxing district — the default. PO boxes do not count. Out-of-District 15 hours is $2,242.50 ($99/SCH tuition). Out-of-State/International 15 hours is $3,052.50. We do not claim any specific address and do not claim all of Brazoria County is in-district.
- UHCL 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 a UHCL seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. UHCL sets its own transfer admission criteria. Read UHCL'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 UHCL College of Education Resident UG Total 2026–2027 $4,562.70 cell. Other UHCL colleges and Fixed Rate cost more. Course/program fees can raise the line.
- You do not add extra semesters at university rates. Extra semesters, higher-cost UHCL colleges, Fixed Rate, or course/program fees shrink or erase the sticker gap. Rates change; check the current Brazosport College and UHCL pages before enrolling. The catalog section heading still says 2025–2026 while the Cashier's Office labels the same table 2026–2027.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books beyond the myBC fee already in the published Brazosport sticker, parking, lab/program/college fees, 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 6, 2026.
Sources retrieved November 6, 2026: Brazosport College; Brazosport College; Brazosport College; Brazosport College; University of Houston–Clear Lake Student Business 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.