Family resources / College cost comparison
Your next step.
A clearer picture
of the cost.
Start close to home or explore moving away. Compare the estimates, open the official sources, and ask what your family would actually pay.
Explore the schoolsYour options, with the sources attached
Start where you are.
Select a group, find your school, and open the college’s own cost page. Each card explains what the numbers include.
No matching schools.
Try a shorter name or view all schools.
A fairer comparison
The small details
make a difference.
Read these notes before deciding one school is cheaper than another.
Texas resident is not the same as in district.
A Harris County address does not automatically qualify you for a college’s lowest tuition rate. Ask the college to confirm your taxing-district status, tuition classification and any approved waiver. FAFSA/TASFA and tuition residency are separate checks.
Not every school uses the same credit load.
Several local estimates use 30 credits annually. UT Austin and SFA use 12 credits per term; UST publishes a full-time range. A&M’s cited general estimate does not specify a credit load. Ask how your planned courses affect annual cost and time to completion.
A housing budget is not necessarily your savings.
Living at home still has costs, and changing your housing plan can change aid. If your family remains in Harris County, a “with parents” budget at Austin or Nacogdoches only applies if you actually have family housing near that campus.
Why we do not rank all schools by sticker price.
The figures differ in course load, housing assumptions and completeness. UH’s admissions flyer is a partial subtotal; A&M and San Jac publish general estimates without the housing split used here. Compare actual offers after confirmed grants and scholarships, not loans.
Bring the comparison to your family
Your actual offer.
Your actual plan.
Use the detailed guide and editable worksheet to compare three options. The worksheet separates confirmed grants and scholarships from borrowing.
Downloads are currently in English. No family information is collected by this page.
- Ask about your rate“What tuition classification would apply to me?”
- Ask about your aid“Which grants and scholarships are confirmed, and what would I still need to pay?”
- Ask about your living plan“How would living with family or moving away change both my costs and my aid?”