Worked example · South San Antonio
Two years at Alamo Colleges (Palo Alto College), then two years at Texas A&M University–San Antonio
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, food, books, transportation, lab and ebook course fees, parking, special program tuition, 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 · Blinn → Prairie View A&M · 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 South San Antonio / Bexar County resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at Texas A&M University–San Antonio, Undergraduate Resident, Jaguar Guaranteed Tuition and Fee Plan, 2026-2027 Fall-Spring, 15 hours. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Alamo Colleges (Palo Alto College) at the published Texas In-District (Bexar County) rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at A&M–San Antonio. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Alamo Colleges with A&M–San Antonio because Palo Alto College (1400 W. Villaret Blvd, San Antonio 78224) and A&M–San Antonio (One University Way, San Antonio 78224) sit in the same South San Antonio ZIP. TEC §130.162 puts Bexar County in the Alamo district service area. Alamo in-district is a Texas resident who has lived in Texas 12 months and resides in Bexar County. Out-of-District (Service Area+) is an alternate row. Non-Texas/International is a warning row. Alamo Colleges → UTSA is a separate sibling map that uses the same Alamo Bexar In-District cell with a different receiving university.
A&M–San Antonio sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read A&M–San Antonio's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway: Texas Core Curriculum plus a Field of Study at a public two-year college qualifies a student for the Texas Direct Transfer Degree, an associate degree under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve an A&M–San Antonio 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
South San Antonio / Bexar County residents pay Alamo Colleges Texas In-District rates. Check residency with Alamo Colleges.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Alamo Colleges, Texas In-District (Bexar County), FY 2026-2027, 15 credit hours | $1,706 per semester | Default cell. $109×15 + $3×15 + $25 + $1 = $1,635 + $45 + $26 = $1,706. AlamoBOOKS+ is included in tuition. Alamo Cost of Attendance prints $3,412 for 15 hours Fall/Spring — exactly 2 × $1,706. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,706 × 4 = $6,824. |
| Alamo Colleges, Texas Out-of-District (Service Area+), 15 credit hours | $2,771 per semester | Alternate only. $180×15 + $45 + $26 = $2,771. Illustration: Out-of-District 2+2 = $2,771 × 4 + $4,880.00 × 4 = $11,084 + $19,520.00 = $30,604.00 (gap $8,436.00). Not the Bexar County default cell. |
| Alamo Colleges, Non-Texas/International, 15 credit hours | $4,976 per semester | Warning only. $327×15 + $45 + $26 = $4,976. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| Texas A&M University–San Antonio, Undergraduate Resident, Jaguar Guaranteed plan, 2026-2027 Fall-Spring, 15 hours | $4,880.00 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Resident undergrads default into Jaguar Guaranteed at admission, locked 8 long semesters: $750.00 tuition + $1,831.40 designated + $3.00 intl ed + $100.00 rec sports + $150.00 student services + $126.00 athletics + $1,819.60 university services + $100.00 student center = $4,880.00. Two years = $4,880.00 × 4 = $19,520.00; eight semesters = $4,880.00 × 8 = $39,040.00. |
| Texas A&M University–San Antonio, Undergraduate Variable, 2026-2027 Fall-Spring, 15 hours | $4,652.77 per semester | Alternate only. First-time students who opt out by the census date. Illustration: Alamo ID + Variable 2+2 = $6,824 + $18,611.08 = $25,435.08 vs 8-sem $37,222.16 (gap $11,787.08). Not the default Jaguar Guaranteed cell. |
| Texas A&M University–San Antonio, Undergraduate Non-Resident, 2026-2027 Fall-Spring, 15 hours | $11,787.97 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
Footnote only: resident undergraduates with more than 30 hours attempted beyond degree requirements pay $150/SCH statutory tuition instead of $50. Special program tuition (for example Nursing RN $165/SCH, Engineering $40/SCH) is omitted from the default cells.
Sources retrieved October 20, 2026: Alamo Colleges District; Alamo Colleges District; Alamo Colleges District; Alamo Colleges District / Northeast Lakeview College; Texas A&M University–San Antonio Student Business Services; Texas A&M University–San Antonio. All sources
Alamo Colleges → A&M–San Antonio versus eight A&M–San Antonio semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Alamo ID 60-hour path ($1,706 × 4 = $6,824) + 2 A&M–San Antonio resident years ($4,880.00 × 4 = $19,520.00) | $26,344.00 |
| 8 A&M–San Antonio Jaguar Guaranteed resident semesters ($4,880.00 × 8) | $39,040.00 |
| Difference in these published lines | $12,696.00 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 20, 2026: Alamo Colleges District; Texas A&M University–San Antonio Student Business Services. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Alamo Texas In-District (Bexar County) $1,706 semester actually applies. South San Antonio is in Bexar County. Out-of-District (Service Area+) 15 hours is $2,771. Non-Texas/International 15 hours is $4,976. Check residency with Alamo Colleges.
- A&M–San Antonio admits you as a transfer student. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway — Core Curriculum plus Field of Study at a public two-year college qualifies a student for the Texas Direct Transfer Degree, an associate degree under TEC §61.834. It does not reserve an A&M–San Antonio seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. A&M–San Antonio sets its own transfer criteria. Read A&M–San Antonio'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 A&M–San Antonio Jaguar Guaranteed Resident $4,880.00 cell. The Variable opt-out 15-hour line is $4,652.77. Lab, ebook, parking, and special program tuition can raise the A&M–San Antonio line above $4,880.00.
- 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, transportation, lab/ebook/course fees, parking, special program tuition (for example Nursing RN $165/SCH, Engineering $40/SCH), 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 20, 2026: Alamo Colleges District; Alamo Colleges District; Alamo Colleges District; Alamo Colleges District / Northeast Lakeview College; Alamo Colleges District / Palo Alto College; Texas Legislature / texas.public.law; Texas A&M University–San Antonio Student Business Services; Texas A&M University–San Antonio; Texas A&M University–San Antonio; 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.