Worked example · Paris
Two years at Paris Junior College, then two years at East Texas A&M University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, food, books, parking, course and lab 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 · 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.
The question
A Paris / Lamar County resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at East Texas A&M University, Guaranteed One Year Plan Texas Resident, 15 hours tuition and fees. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Paris Junior College at the published In-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at ETAMU. This page prints two Path B maps: PJC In-District (Lamar County default) and PJC Out-of-District. Does either map show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Paris Junior College with ETAMU because PJC's main campus (2400 Clarksville St., Paris) sits in Lamar County, and ETAMU in Commerce is the nearest public university on that northeast Texas map. No PJC–ETAMU partnership page or local bachelor's site was found. This page does not claim an articulation, a local bachelor's site, or guaranteed transfer. Check ETAMU transfer requirements and the Texas Common Course Numbering / core curriculum with both advisors. Hunt County / Commerce residents outside the Lamar County tax rolls use the separate Commerce sibling, which defaults to PJC Out-of-District with the same ETAMU One Year Plan $5,013.07 cell. ETAMU sets its own transfer admission criteria. Read ETAMU's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, credit, or savings promise.
PJC's catalog says In-District requires a residence documented on the Paris Junior College tax rolls (residing within Lamar County) for one year prior to enrollment. Paris is in Lamar County, so In-District is the default cell — confirm your own status with PJC. This page does not claim any specific address is in-district. Out-of-District is the alternate map for other Texas residents and all Oklahoma residents (for example Greenville or Sulphur Springs center students living outside Lamar County). Non-Resident 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 an ETAMU 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
Paris / Lamar County residents who meet PJC's one-year tax-roll rule pay In-District rates. Confirm residency with Paris Junior College.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Paris Junior College, In-District (Lamar County), 15 credit hours (2026–2027) | $1,350 per semester | Default cell. Official 15-hour table: tuition + general fee. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,350 × 4 = $5,400. Dragon Now is not in this cell. |
| Paris Junior College, Out-of-District (other Texas residents; also all Oklahoma residents), 15 credit hours (2026–2027) | $2,100 per semester | Alternate map. Official 15-hour table. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $2,100 × 4 = $8,400. 2+2 = $8,400 + $20,052.28 = $28,452.28 (difference $11,652.28). |
| Paris Junior College, Non-Resident (out of state & international), 15 credit hours (2026–2027) | $2,850 per semester | Warning only. Official 15-hour table. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a non-resident 2+2 total. |
| East Texas A&M University, Guaranteed One Year Plan Texas Resident, 15 hours | $5,013.07 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Same One Year Plan line as the Commerce and Corsicana siblings. Two years = $5,013.07 × 4 = $20,052.28; eight semesters = $5,013.07 × 8 = $40,104.56. Multiplying a one-year lock across 4 or 8 semesters is a same-rate illustration; rates change each year. ETAMU COA Resident tuition and fees $10,026/year corroborates 2 × this cell. |
| East Texas A&M University, Guaranteed One Year Plan Out of State, 15 hours | $11,133.07 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. We do not print a non-resident 2+2 total. |
Footnote only — not in the sticker: PJC special course fees, lab fees, 3-peat tuition, and room and board. All PJC students are automatically enrolled in Dragon Now ($20/SCH; +$300 per 15-SCH term); opt-out is allowed each term with no penalty. Dragon Now is a course-materials charge, like books — not in $1,350 / $2,100 / $2,850. ETAMU remote-location, online, and lab fees may apply and are not folded into $5,013.07; we do not compute those extras. PJC costs are subject to change by the PJC Board of Regents.
Sources retrieved November 4, 2026: Paris Junior College; Paris Junior College; Paris Junior College; East Texas A&M University; East Texas A&M University. All sources
Paris Junior College → ETAMU versus eight ETAMU semesters
Both maps use the same ETAMU Guaranteed One Year Plan Texas Resident $5,013.07 cell. The In-District map is the Paris / Lamar County default. Confirm residency with PJC.
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| In-District: PJC 60-hour path ($1,350 × 4 = $5,400) + 2 ETAMU Guaranteed One Year Resident years ($5,013.07 × 4 = $20,052.28) | $5,400 + $20,052.28 = $25,452.28 |
| Out-of-District: PJC 60-hour path ($2,100 × 4 = $8,400) + 2 ETAMU years ($20,052.28) | $8,400 + $20,052.28 = $28,452.28 |
| 8 ETAMU Guaranteed One Year Plan Texas Resident semesters ($5,013.07 × 8) | $40,104.56 |
| In-District difference in these published lines | $14,652.28 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
| Out-of-District difference in these published lines | $11,652.28 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
| Alternate — if you stay in Dragon Now (+$300 per 15-SCH term; $20/SCH; opt-out allowed): In-District 2+2 | $26,652.28 ($13,452.28 lower than eight ETAMU semesters) |
| Alternate — if you stay in Dragon Now (+$300 per 15-SCH term; $20/SCH; opt-out allowed): Out-of-District 2+2 | $29,652.28 ($10,452.28 lower than eight ETAMU semesters) |
Sources retrieved November 4, 2026: Paris Junior College; East Texas A&M University. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The PJC rate that actually applies is the one you confirm with PJC. In-District 15 hours is $1,350 for a Lamar County tax-roll resident who meets the one-year rule — the Paris default. Out-of-District 15 hours is $2,100. Non-Resident 15 hours is $2,850. We do not claim any specific address is in-district.
- ETAMU 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 an ETAMU seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, credit, or savings promise. This page does not claim a PJC–ETAMU partnership or local bachelor's site. ETAMU sets its own transfer admission criteria. Read ETAMU'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 ETAMU Guaranteed One Year Plan Texas Resident $5,013.07 cell. Remote-location, online, or lab fees can raise the ETAMU line above $5,013.07.
- You do not add extra semesters at university rates. Extra semesters, PJC lab/special fees, Dragon Now if you keep it, or those ETAMU extras shrink or erase the sticker gap. Rates change; check the current PJC and ETAMU pages before enrolling.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, parking, Dragon Now (except the labeled alternate lines), PJC lab and special course fees, ETAMU remote-location / online / lab fees, installment 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 4, 2026.
Sources retrieved November 4, 2026: Paris Junior College; Paris Junior College; Paris Junior College; East Texas A&M University; East Texas A&M University; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
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