Save Money on Texas Tuition: Texas Financial Aid

Updated: May 21, 2023

Get Texas In-State Tuition

One of the more affordable ways to get a bachelor’s degree typically is to attend an in-State public school. U.S. citizens can qualify as Texas residents by residing in Texas for at least one year before enrolling in a Texas university. Noncitizens who do not have legal status can qualify as in-State residents by living in Texas for at least three years before graduating from high school or receiving the equivalent of a high school diploma. Other paths to in-State tuition include marriage, employment in Texas, and ownership of residential real estate or a business in Texas. Some Texas-based realtors use obtaining in-State Texas residency as a business lead magnet for buying a house in Texas. Here is a website with information about qualifying as a Texas resident: https://reportcenter.highered.texas.gov/reports/data/overview-eligibility-for-in-state-tuition-and-state-financial-programs/. While in-State tuition for a public institution is not financial aid, it is subsidized. In-State tuition in Texas is typically about one-third the cost of out-of-State tuition. The cost of attending an in-State public institution should be compared against the cost of other institutions after financial aid awards are offered. Families often do not pay the sticker price.

Get a Texas Government Grant to Go to a Private School

The Tuition Equalization Grant Program (TEG) provides grant aid for Texas residents to attend private Texas colleges or universities. Information about the TEG Program is available at: http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=534.

Students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA® to apply for a grant under this program. Still, they can complete the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) if they are ineligible to complete the FAFSA®. The awards may be as high as about $3,500 per semester.

The grants are need-based as determined by the private institution. Eligible students must be enrolled at least three-quarters time in degree programs. In addition, eligible students must be facing a tuition bill that is higher than what they would have at a comparable public school. Since in-State tuition for Texas public schools is subsidized by the State, these grants help to “level the playing field” by providing a subsidy for Texas residents to attend private schools in Texas.

Texas Need-Based Grants

The Toward EXcellence, Access & Success (Texas) Grant Program provides need-based financial aid to Texas residents. Students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA® to apply for a grant under this program, but they can complete the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) if they are ineligible to complete the FAFSA®. While the awards are primarily need-based, students must meet some minimum academic requirements to be eligible. The awards may be as high as about $5,400 per semester. The grants may be used at Texas public institutions or health-related institutions. For more information, please see: http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=458.

The Texas Public Educational Grant (TPEG) is another need-based grant program. Information about the program can be found at: https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/education/msp/funding/aid/state-programs/txtpe.php. Students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA® to apply for a grant under this program. Texas public colleges and universities give undergraduate students these awards from their resources. Eligible students may be either residents or nonresidents. The deadlines and award sizes vary.

Texas Student Loans

While student loans are not exactly financial aid, Texas offers the College Access Loans (CAL) Program to residents who want to borrow to help meet the cost of attending a Texas institution. The borrower or a co-signer must have an acceptable credit score (around 650). The loans may be preferable to Federal PLUS loans. For more information, please see:

http://www.hhloans.com/index.cfm?objectid=21A41908-C7D3-A868-66FB91774CF078CB.

Other Texas Grants and Scholarships

Other Texas programs are more narrowly targeted to certain groups of students, which are included on this website: http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa.cfm?Kind=GS. These programs assist such students as those:

· with a connection to the military or foster care;

· pursuing careers in accounting, health, or teaching; and

· attending community colleges.

Texas Merit-Based Financial Aid

Texas does not have the large merit-based financial aid programs one finds in Georgia (Hope Scholarships) or Florida (Bright Futures). Individual institutions, however, distribute merit-based aid. Typically, the application for admission to the institution functions as the application for the scholarship. In addition, less selective institutions are generally more likely to provide merit-based financial aid than highly selective institutions.