Worked example · Prairie View
Two years at Blinn College, then two years at Prairie View A&M University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, meals and laundry, books, course and lab fees beyond the published Tuition & Mandatory Fees total, 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) · NCTC → TWU · Ranger → Tarleton · PJC → ETAMU · San Jacinto → UHCL · TCC → UTA (Arlington) · Dallas College → UT Dallas · 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 Prairie View / Waller County resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at Prairie View A&M University, 2026-2027 Undergraduate Resident, 12 or more hours, Tuition & Mandatory Fees, Variable Rate Plan. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Blinn 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 PVAMU. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Blinn College with PVAMU because PVAMU's main campus sits in Waller County, Waller County is in Blinn's statutory service area (TEC §130.168), and Blinn runs a Waller Campus. Blinn In-District is Washington County only, so Prairie View / Waller County is Blinn Out-of-District — the default cell on this page. That is the same Blinn OOD $3,045 cell as the Bryan– College Station Blinn → TAMU sibling; this page is a different receiving university. Huntsville Lone Star College → SHSU is a separate sibling. Lone Star College rows here are alternates only: Waller County is not in LSC's service area or taxing district (TEC §130.191; LSC Policy I.A.1.03).
PVAMU sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read PVAMU's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a PVAMU 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
Prairie View / Waller County residents pay Blinn Out-of-District rates. Check residency with Blinn.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Blinn College, Out-of-District Texas Resident 2026-27, 15 credit hours | $3,045 per semester | Default cell. Waller County is Blinn service area, not Washington County In-District. Published schedule row: tuition $123 × 15 + General Fee $80 × 15 = $3,045. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $3,045 × 4 = $12,180. Classroom-equipment fees and dual-credit rates are omitted. |
| Blinn College, In-District (Washington County only), 15 credit hours | $2,160 per semester | Alternate only. Illustration: In-District 2+2 = $2,160 × 4 + $5,538.81 × 4 = $8,640 + $22,155.24 = $30,795.24 (gap $13,515.24). Not the Prairie View / Waller County default cell. |
| Blinn College, Out-of-State/Foreign, 15 credit hours | $5,385 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| Lone Star College, In-District (LSC taxing-district ISDs only), 15 credit hours | $1,665 per semester | Alternate only. Published $111 × 15. Illustration: LSC In-District 2+2 = $1,665 × 4 + $5,538.81 × 4 = $6,660 + $22,155.24 = $28,815.24 (gap $15,495.24). Only if the student lives in an LSC taxing-district ISD. Waller County is not on that list. |
| Lone Star College, Out-of-District, 15 credit hours | $3,735 per semester | Alternate only. Published $249 × 15. Illustration: LSC Out-of-District 2+2 = $3,735 × 4 + $5,538.81 × 4 = $14,940 + $22,155.24 = $37,095.24 (gap $7,215.24) — a Waller County resident choosing LSC, not the default Blinn map. |
| Lone Star College, International/Out-of-State, 15 credit hours | $4,695 per semester | Warning only. Published $313 × 15. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| Prairie View A&M University, 2026-2027 Undergraduate Resident, 12 or more hours, Tuition & Mandatory Fees, Variable Rate Plan, per semester | $5,538.81 | Default receiving-university cell. Flat 12+ hour rate covers 15 SCH. Two years = $5,538.81 × 4 = $22,155.24; eight semesters = $5,538.81 × 8 = $44,310.48. Meals & Laundry and Housing on the same chart are living costs and are omitted. |
| Prairie View A&M University, 2026-2027 Undergraduate Non-Resident, 12 or more hours, Tuition & Mandatory Fees, Variable Rate Plan, per semester | $13,173.74 | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
Footnote only — not default cells: PVAMU Guaranteed (5-yr) Resident UG 12+ hrs $5,649.59 (higher locked plan). Guaranteed Non-Resident $13,437.21 is also on the same chart and is omitted from the default cell.
Sources retrieved October 19, 2026: Blinn College District; Blinn College District; Blinn College District; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Prairie View A&M University Treasury Services; Prairie View A&M University. All sources
Blinn College → PVAMU versus eight PVAMU semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Blinn OOD 60-hour path ($3,045 × 4 = $12,180) + 2 PVAMU Variable Resident years ($5,538.81 × 4 = $22,155.24) | $34,335.24 |
| 8 PVAMU Variable Resident semesters ($5,538.81 × 8) | $44,310.48 |
| Difference in these published lines | $9,975.24 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 19, 2026: Blinn College District; Prairie View A&M University Treasury Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Blinn Out-of-District $3,045 semester actually applies. Prairie View / Waller County is Blinn service area, not Washington County In-District ($2,160). Out-of-State/Foreign 15 hours is $5,385. Check residency with Blinn.
- PVAMU 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 PVAMU seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. PVAMU sets its own transfer criteria. Read PVAMU'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 PVAMU Variable Resident 2026-2027 $5,538.81 cell. The Guaranteed (5-yr) Resident UG 12+ hrs $5,649.59 plan is higher. Course, lab, and International Student Services fees can raise the PVAMU line above $5,538.81.
- 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, meals & laundry, books, course/lab/classroom-equipment fees, International Student Services Fee, parking, installment fees, cost-of-attendance living averages, College Scorecard, Net Price Calculator outputs, and aid/scholarship dollar effects are omitted. This is arithmetic on published price lists, not a quote from a bursar.
Sources retrieved October 19, 2026: Blinn College District; Blinn College District; Blinn College District; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Lone Star College; Prairie View A&M University Treasury Services; Prairie View A&M University; 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.