Affordability for Texas A&M University
Tuition and Fees
Average tuition and fees for 30 semester credit hours: $5,639
Median family income by region, by ethnicity.
| Region | White | Black | Hispanic | Asian | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median Income | Percent T&F | Median Income | Percent T&F | Median Income | Percent T&F | Median Income | Percent T&F | Median Income | Percent T&F | Median Income | Percent T&F | |
| High Plains | $46,811 | 12.0% | $23,133 | 24.4% | $27,694 | 20.4% | $52,598 | 10.7% | $28,115 | 20.1% | $39,987 | 14.1% |
| Northwest | $41,423 | 13.6% | $25,405 | 22.2% | $26,442 | 21.3% | $38,308 | 14.7% | $26,569 | 21.2% | $37,693 | 15.0% |
| Metroplex | $65,041 | 8.7% | $36,594 | 15.4% | $34,976 | 16.1% | $61,260 | 9.2% | $36,291 | 15.5% | $54,032 | 10.4% |
| Upper East Texas | $43,743 | 12.9% | $24,903 | 22.6% | $27,999 | 20.1% | $51,327 | 11.0% | $30,080 | 18.7% | $39,700 | 14.2% |
| Southeast Texas | $44,397 | 12.7% | $24,739 | 22.8% | $31,914 | 17.7% | $44,345 | 12.7% | $31,873 | 17.7% | $39,615 | 14.2% |
| Gulf Coast | $67,885 | 8.3% | $35,211 | 16.0% | $33,398 | 16.9% | $56,901 | 9.9% | $33,860 | 16.7% | $50,955 | 11.1% |
| Central Texas | $58,189 | 9.7% | $33,184 | 17.0% | $36,874 | 15.3% | $57,789 | 9.8% | $35,577 | 15.9% | $49,907 | 11.3% |
| South Texas | $53,694 | 10.5% | $35,426 | 15.9% | $28,487 | 19.8% | $50,069 | 11.3% | $28,439 | 19.8% | $36,673 | 15.4% |
| West Texas | $47,399 | 11.9% | $24,815 | 22.7% | $27,378 | 20.6% | $47,765 | 11.8% | $27,609 | 20.4% | $38,073 | 14.8% |
| Upper Rio Grande | $55,051 | 10.2% | $41,124 | 13.7% | $28,320 | 19.9% | $44,521 | 12.7% | $28,470 | 19.8% | $33,588 | 16.8% |
| Statewide | $57,194 | 9.9% | $33,276 | 16.9% | $30,840 | 18.3% | $56,792 | 9.9% | $30,266 | 18.6% | $45,132 | 12.5% |
Undergraduate Students from in-state
| Region | White | Black | Hispanic | Asian | Other | Male | Female | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Num | % | Num | % | Num | % | Num | % | Num | % | Num | % | Num | % | Num | % | |
| High Plains | 604 | 1.8% | 5 | 0.0% | 34 | 0.1% | 10 | 0.0% | 7 | 0.0% | 344 | 1.0% | 316 | 0.9% | 660 | 1.9% |
| Northwest | 631 | 1.8% | 4 | 0.0% | 16 | 0.0% | 13 | 0.0% | 4 | 0.0% | 361 | 1.1% | 307 | 0.9% | 668 | 2.0% |
| Metroplex | 6,278 | 18.3% | 200 | 0.6% | 393 | 1.1% | 244 | 0.7% | 100 | 0.3% | 3,565 | 10.4% | 3,650 | 10.7% | 7,215 | 21.1% |
| Upper East Texas | 1,413 | 4.1% | 35 | 0.1% | 29 | 0.1% | 26 | 0.1% | 14 | 0.0% | 810 | 2.4% | 707 | 2.1% | 1,517 | 4.4% |
| Southeast Texas | 1,035 | 3.0% | 47 | 0.1% | 40 | 0.1% | 27 | 0.1% | 12 | 0.0% | 589 | 1.7% | 572 | 1.7% | 1,161 | 3.4% |
| Gulf Coast | 8,691 | 25.4% | 337 | 1.0% | 807 | 2.4% | 531 | 1.6% | 137 | 0.4% | 5,224 | 15.3% | 5,279 | 15.4% | 10,503 | 30.7% |
| Central Texas | 5,274 | 15.4% | 124 | 0.4% | 432 | 1.3% | 132 | 0.4% | 92 | 0.3% | 3,040 | 8.9% | 3,014 | 8.8% | 6,054 | 17.7% |
| South Texas | 3,828 | 11.2% | 59 | 0.2% | 1,383 | 4.0% | 86 | 0.3% | 70 | 0.2% | 2,785 | 8.1% | 2,641 | 7.7% | 5,426 | 15.9% |
| West Texas | 675 | 2.0% | 1 | 0.0% | 51 | 0.1% | 8 | 0.0% | 5 | 0.0% | 395 | 1.2% | 345 | 1.0% | 740 | 2.2% |
| Upper Rio Grande | 148 | 0.4% | 4 | 0.0% | 108 | 0.3% | 8 | 0.0% | 5 | 0.0% | 149 | 0.4% | 124 | 0.4% | 273 | 0.8% |
| Statewide | 28,577 | 83.5% | 816 | 2.4% | 3,293 | 9.6% | 1,085 | 3.2% | 446 | 1.3% | 17,262 | 50.4% | 16,955 | 49.6% | 34,217 | 100.0% |
Criteria for Admissions
- Top 10% of high school graduation class
- Academic record
- Socioeconomic background
- First-generation in college
- Bilingual proficiency
- Financial status of the applicant’s school district
- Performance level of applicant’s school
- Responsibilities while attending school
- Standardized test scores
- Community activities
- Extracurricular activities
- Other consideration necessary to accomplish institutional mission
Analysis of the Criteria used to admit students
All students admitted to Texas A&M University are chosen in a competitive process focused on individual achievement and potential. During its entire history as a land-grant institution, Texas A&M has maintained a national reputation for developing students to be leaders and to make substantial contributions to the larger society. This philosophy guides the admission process.
For fall 2006, all students will be admitted to Texas A&M in three categories: 1) Top 10% graduates from recognized Texas high schools are admitted by state statute; 2) Academic Admits who have at least 1300 on the SAT I (600 or better on both math and critical reading or 30 on the ACT and graduate in the top quarter of their class with college prep courses from a Texas high school; 3) Students admitted by individualized full-file review. Approximately two-thirds of the freshmen enter in categories 1 and 2 with the remainder coming from the review pool. The holistic review considers not only academic achievement but also extracurricular involvement, unusual experiences, special talents and skills, and leadership potential including evidence that the student has overcome adverse circumstances.
Texas A&M is firmly committed to serving all citizens of the state of Texas, and that commitment means putting additional energy into attracting and enrolling underrepresented students. Texas A&M is making new and substantial efforts to encourage underrepresented students to apply for admission to the University. For admitted underrepresented students, Texas A&M is undertaking significant endeavors to encourage them to enroll and become part of the Aggie family. These initiatives are showing results as enrollments demonstrate both in fall 2004 and fall 2005. There have been significant increases in enrollment of African American and Hispanic freshmen in these two classes. As one example, in fall 2005, there were over 1000 Hispanic freshmen enrolled, the largest number ever at Texas A&M. These classes are also noteworthy with enrollment of approximately one quarter of the freshmen being first generation college students.
Criteria for Financial Aid
- First generation student status
- Financial need
- Merit (grades, GPA, performance, other)
- Enrollment in a specific major/discipline
- Enrollment at a specific level
- Enrollment in a specific number of hours
- Date of financial aid application (first-come; first-served)
- Expected family contribution
- Cost of attendance
Analysis of the criteria used to award financial aid
Texas A&M University is committed to providing financial resources to students to enable them to pursue their educational goals. As part of this commitment, we strive to provide financial solutions to students at all income levels and with varying academic, merit, leadership, and community service qualifications. The need-based financial assistance program is designed for all students who have a demonstrated financial need, as defined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), in order to assist the student in meeting college expenses. All financial aid is contingent upon the students making satisfactory academic progress, as defined by the Department of Student Financial Aid or the specific program.
Financial aid has two forms: gift aid and self-help. Gift aid includes grants, scholarships, and various waivers. Self-help includes federal, state, institutional, and alternative loans, as well as student employment as part of college work study or regular student employment on campus, internships, or assistantships. In determining the type and amount of financial assistance necessary to meet a student’s financial need, the University expects students, spouses, and parents to make a maximum effort to assist with college expenses. Our awarding philosophy for need-based financial aid is to provide the greatest amount of gift aid to those students with the highest demonstrated need and to keep loan liability to a minimum.
Texas A&M University participates in the following federal Title IV programs: The Federal Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work Study (including community service and reading/math tutors), Federal Perkins Loan program, and the Federal Stafford Loan Program (including Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students programs). Other federal and state programs that TAMU award include Leveraging Education Assistance Partnership Program (LEAPP), Supplemental Leveraging Education Assistance Program (SLEAP), the Texas Public Education Grant (TPEG), the Towards Excellence, Access and Success (TEXAS) grant, Texas College Work Study, and the B-On Time Loan. In addition, funds have been set-aside from designated tuition increases that have been used to create the Regents Scholarship program for low income, first generation students, grants to middle income students, and recruiting scholarships designed to improve the diversity of our student population.
Texas A&M University annually awards a large number of competitive academic scholarships to incoming freshmen and currently enrolled students with and without regard to financial need. These scholarships reward academic achievement, scholarly promise, and leadership excellence. Some are awarded based on a combination merit and general characteristics that relate to targeted student groups, such as: students who have overcome adverse socioeconomic circumstances, students who attend high schools that are underrepresented at TAMU, students with interest in certain fields of study, etc.
Short term loans up to a year are available to provide assistance to students who experience temporary financial difficulties with educationally related expenses. Students must be degree-seeking, enrolled half-time and making satisfactory academic progress to be eligible for short term loans. The Emergency Tuition and Required Fees loan program is available to help students pay their Texas A&M University tuition and required fees. The loan is applied directly to the student’s tuition and fee account.
Comparison of this institution to peer institutions in-state and out-of-state
Texas A&M University continues to be affordable for all Texas families. We have maintained that affordability by reducing administrative costs, increasing financial aid, and keeping designated tuition increases smaller than those at many other Texas universities. The total annual cost of attendance at Texas A&M including tuition and fees, books, room and board, travel and personal expenses was at $16,326 during academic year 2004-2005. This was lower than the cost of attendance reported by the University of Texas-San Antonio ($17,017), Texas Tech University ($16,429), UT-Austin ($17,091) and the University of Houston ($19,873). (Information was collected from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website.)
Seventy eight percent (78%) of Texas A&M students receive financial aid. The average percentage of out-of-pocket cost paid directly by families has actually decreased from about 70% in the early 1990’s to about 60% in 2004. Texas A&M continues to be a bargain both for in-state students and in comparison to our national peers. To make sure that any tuition increases that may be required in the future are reasonable, Texas A&M has established a Tuition Advisory Council that includes undergraduate and graduate student members and representatives from the Association of Former Students and the Federation of Texas A&M Mothers Clubs.
