Worked example · San Marcos
Two years at Austin Community College, then two years at Texas State University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, ACC course, First Day, and third-attempt fees, Texas State designated differential, electronic-course, and off-campus fees, 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 · NCTC → TWU · Ranger → Tarleton · PJC → ETAMU.
The question
A San Marcos resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at Texas State University, Undergraduate Resident (traditional rate), Fall 2026, 15 hours TOTAL TUITION & FEES. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Austin Community College at the published Out-of-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at Texas State. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Austin Community College with Texas State because ACC and Texas State describe their own "Bats to Cats" ACC-to-TXST program and state their own eligibility rules on their pages — context and link-out only. Read those pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise.
ACC's District & Service Area page lists San Marcos CISD in ACC's service area but not in the ACC taxing district. Service-area residents outside the taxing district pay the published Out-of-District rate — the default cell on this page. Hays CISD is in the ACC taxing district; that In-District cell is an alternate row, not the San Marcos CISD default. Check which ISD your address is in. Out-of-State & International rows are warnings. Texas Direct is credit application plus a THECB associate degree under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a Texas State 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
San Marcos CISD residents pay ACC Out-of-District rates. Service area is not the taxing district. Hays CISD is in the ACC taxing district. Check which ISD your address is in.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Community College, Out-of-District, 15 credit hours (2026-2027) | $4,290 per semester | Default cell. San Marcos CISD is in ACC's service area and not in the ACC taxing district. Published $286 × 15 = $4,290 ($85 tuition and listed fees + $201 out-of-district fee per credit hour). 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not an ACC printed 60-hour total: $4,290 × 4 = $17,160. ACC 2026-2027 Cost of Attendance tuition and fees equals exactly 2 × the 15-hour rows. |
| Austin Community College, In-District, 15 credit hours (2026-2027) | $1,275 per semester | Alternate only. Residents inside the ACC taxing district (for example Hays CISD). Published $85 × 15 = $1,275. Illustration: In-District 2+2 = $1,275 × 4 + $6,129.45 × 4 = $5,100 + $24,517.80 = $29,617.80 versus $49,035.60 ($19,417.80 lower). Not the San Marcos CISD default cell. |
| Austin Community College, Out-of-State & International, 15 credit hours (2026-2027) | $3,270 (In-District) / $6,285 (Out-of-District) per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| Texas State University, Undergraduate Resident (traditional rate), Fall 2026, 15 hours TOTAL TUITION & FEES | $6,129.45 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Published 15-hour total: Tuition E&G $750 + Designated $3,860.40 ($257.36/SCH) + Institutional Services $730.80 + Bus $95 + Medical Service $53 + Recreational Sports $94 + Student Center $100 + Student Service $90 + Athletic $356.25 = $6,129.45. Two years = $6,129.45 × 4 = $24,517.80; eight semesters = $6,129.45 × 8 = $49,035.60. TXST posts Fall 2026 rates (no separate Spring 2027 table at fetch); page math repeats the Fall 2026 line. Designated differential, electronic-course, and off-campus fees are omitted. |
| Texas State University, Non-Resident, Fall 2026, 15 hours TOTAL TUITION & FEES | $12,549.45 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. Same official Fall 2026 undergraduate rates page. |
| Texas State University, Guaranteed Price Plan (resident, opt-in), Fall 2026, 15 hours TOTAL TUITION & FEES | $6,592.65 per semester | Alternate only. Higher than the traditional $6,129.45 cell. Incoming resident undergraduate and transfer students opt in at the beginning of their first term. Fixed tuition and mandatory fees for twelve consecutive semesters. Not the default cell. |
Sources retrieved October 8, 2026: Austin Community College District; Austin Community College District; Texas State University Student Business Services; Texas State University Student Business Services. All sources
Austin Community College → Texas State versus eight Texas State semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| ACC Out-of-District 60-hour path ($4,290 × 4) + 2 Texas State Resident years ($6,129.45 × 4) | $17,160 + $24,517.80 = $41,677.80 |
| 8 Texas State Undergraduate Resident (traditional) semesters at the same Fall 2026 15-hour TOTAL TUITION & FEES line ($6,129.45 × 8) | $49,035.60 |
| Difference in these published lines | $7,357.80 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 8, 2026: Austin Community College District; Texas State University Student Business Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The ACC Out-of-District $4,290 semester actually applies. San Marcos CISD residents pay Out-of-District. Service area is not the taxing district. Hays CISD is in the ACC taxing district. Check which ISD your address is in. In-District 15 hours is $1,275 and is only for residents inside the ACC taxing district. Out-of-State & International 15 hours is $3,270 (In-District) / $6,285 (Out-of-District).
- Texas State 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 Texas State seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. ACC and Texas State describe their own "Bats to Cats" ACC-to-TXST program with their own eligibility rules. Those pages are context and link-out only. Read them directly. PathMax does not repeat the schools' wording as a PathMax promise, their scholarship amounts, or their average-savings claim. 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. ACC / Texas State pathway maps are school advising maps, not PathMax FOS-completion claims. See Texas Direct.
- You stay on the Texas State Undergraduate Resident (traditional) Fall 2026 $6,129.45 cell. Designated Differential Tuition $20/SCH for McCoy College of Business, College of Science and Engineering, and College of Health Professions courses, electronic course fee $50/SCH, and off-campus course fee $30/SCH are not in that total. Rates can vary by program, instructional method, or campus location. Excessive undergraduate hours (TEC §54.014) are charged at the non-resident tuition rate. The Guaranteed Price Plan resident 15-hour Fall 2026 line is $6,592.65 — alternate only, higher than traditional, opt-in at the beginning of the first term, fixed for twelve consecutive semesters.
- 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, ACC course fee $50/course, First Day book fee (varies), third course attempt +$60/SCH, Texas State designated differential, electronic-course, and off-campus fees, parking, installment fees, and cost-of-attendance living averages are omitted. ACC fees also include general $15/SCH, student success $2/SCH, and sustainability $1/SCH inside the published 15-hour rows. ACC Free Tuition covers tuition and general fees (up to three years) for qualifying ACC service-area high school graduates (spring 2024 – August 2028) and listed homeschool / Texas GED® completers; students in the service area but not the ACC voting district still pay the out-of-district fee; other fees still billed. PathMax computes no Free Tuition figure — check ACC's page. ACC 2026-2027 Cost of Attendance Tuition and fees of In-District $2,550 / Out-of-District $8,580 / Out-of-State (In-District) $6,540 / Out-of-State (Out-of-District) $12,570 is corroboration only (matches 2 × the 15-hour rows). Texas State 2026-2027 Cost of Attendance Tuition and Fees Texas Resident $12,240 / Nonresident $25,080 is a rounded estimate (corroboration only). The Austin hub example uses that rounded $12,240/yr line; this page uses the exact Fall 2026 15-hour table, so the two pages differ slightly by design. College Scorecard average annual cost does not belong in this table. We do not invent articulation-agreement dollars from the schools' ACC-to-TXST pages. TXST rates are subject to change by the Legislature / Board of Regents.
Sources retrieved October 8, 2026: Austin Community College District; Austin Community College District; Austin Community College District; Austin Community College District; Austin Community College District; Texas State University Student Business Services; Texas State University Student Business Services; Texas State University Student Business Services; Texas State University One Stop; Texas State University; Texas State University Transfer Center; 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.