Worked example
Two years of transferable core, then two years at a state university
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, course fees, and financial aid are omitted because mixing them in without a family's FAFSA is how directories invent savings.
Siblings: 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 · 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) · Brazosport College → UHCL (Lake Jackson) · Alvin Community College → UHCL · College of the Mainland → UHCL (Texas City) · LSC-Montgomery → SHSU (Conroe).
The question
A Texas resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: enter the university as a freshman and stay four years. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Austin Community College in-district, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at the same public university. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We run the arithmetic twice: ACC then Texas State, and ACC then UT Austin College of Liberal Arts. Liberal Arts is the cleanest UT catalog row for a general bachelor's. Accounting families should also look at the higher UT Business row on the accounting page.
Published rates used
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| ACC in-district tuition and listed fees | $85 per credit hour ($67 + $18) | 60 hours × $85 = $5,100 |
| Texas State, Texas resident tuition and fees | $12,240 per academic year (15 + 15 hours, 2026–2027) | 2 years = $24,480; 4 years = $48,960 |
| UT Austin Liberal Arts, Texas resident, 12+ hours | $5,429 per semester, traditional flat rate, Fall 2026–Spring 2027 | 2 semesters = $10,858; 4 semesters = $21,716; 8 semesters = $43,432 |
Sources retrieved August 29, 2026: Austin Community College District; Texas State University Admissions; The University of Texas at Austin; Texas One Stop, The University of Texas at Austin. All sources
ACC → Texas State versus four years at Texas State
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| 2 years ACC in-district (60 hours) + 2 years Texas State | $5,100 + $24,480 = $29,580 |
| 4 years Texas State at the same annual line | $12,240 × 4 = $48,960 |
| Difference in these published lines | $19,380 lower on the 2+2 map |
Sources retrieved August 29, 2026: Austin Community College District; Texas State University Admissions. All sources
ACC → UT Austin Liberal Arts versus four years at UT Austin
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| 2 years ACC in-district (60 hours) + 4 UT Liberal Arts semesters | $5,100 + $21,716 = $26,816 |
| 8 UT Liberal Arts semesters as a freshman start | $5,429 × 8 = $43,432 |
| Difference in these published lines | $16,616 lower on the 2+2 map |
Sources retrieved August 29, 2026: Austin Community College District; The University of Texas at Austin. All sources
What has to be true for the savings to be real
- You are actually charged the in-district ACC rate. ACC's own table lists out-of-district Texas residents at $286 per credit hour — 60 hours at that rate is $17,160, which changes the comparison.
- The university admits you as a transfer student. Texas Direct is about credit application, not a reserved seat.
- The hours apply to the major. Use a completed Field of Study when THECB says it is complete. See Texas Direct.
- You do not add a fifth year. Extra semesters at university rates erase the gap.
A dated THECB snapshot ACC published
On April 8, 2025, ACC's newsroom cited THECB 2024–25 published tuition and fees for 30 credit hours: ACC $2,550; Alamo Community College $3,412; Texas State Technical College $7,212; The University of Texas $10,858; Texas A&M University $11,550; Texas State University $12,220. We keep that as a dated snapshot. The line-by-line math above uses the school catalog tables we retrieved later.
Sources retrieved August 29, 2026: Austin Community College District Newsroom. All sources
What we omitted on purpose
Texas State lists housing and food at $13,330 for 2026–2027. Texas A&M's catalog estimates about $33,180 for a nine-month in-state cost of attendance including living expenses. College Scorecard's average annual cost is net price after grants for first-time aid recipients. None of those belong in a sticker-tuition 2+2 table, so they are not added here.
Sources retrieved September 8, 2026: Texas State University Admissions; Texas A&M University Catalogs; U.S. Department of Education. All sources
Directory pages stay free. Published by Plain Steps. Optional $19 Texas Direct 2+2 worksheet.