Huntsville, TX · Public · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for Sam Houston State University
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$76,482
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,000.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Sam Houston State University, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at Sam Houston State University
| Full price, in state | $26,320 |
| Full price, out of state | $39,133 |
| After grants, at your income | $17,912 |
At this income, 25 of Texas's other 58 colleges cost less after grants, and 33 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. Freshman scholarships are competitive, and a student applies through Scholarships4Kats by the November 1 priority date. The Honors Scholarship is worth up to $40,000 over four years.
Sam Houston State University's promise. Bearkat Promise: mandatory tuition and fees covered with grants for Texas students with family income up to $100,000. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Sam Houston State University, our scenarios for Texas households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,200 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What Sam Houston State University says it awards for grades and test scores.
Freshman scholarships are competitive, and a student applies through Scholarships4Kats by the November 1 priority date. The Honors Scholarship is worth up to $40,000 over four years.
Published guarantees you may qualify for
We do not assume you qualify for any of these, and our plans never bank on them. Check each against your own situation with the aid office.
Bearkat Promise: mandatory tuition and fees covered with grants for Texas students with family income up to $100,000
Household income up to $100,000. Covers tuition, fees.
- For entering freshmen and transfer students who are eligible for a Pell Grant and have financial need, file the FAFSA by January 15 and take at least 12 hours a semester.
- Renewal needs a 2.5 GPA and 67% of hours completed, for up to four years in all. It does not cover other fees.
“The Bearkat Promise covers at least $5,685 in mandatory¹ tuition and fees each semester (15 credit hours) with only grant funds, not loans. The Bearkat Promise program supports students with family income² up to $100,000! Description Requirement Entering Freshman or Entering Transfer Students YES PELL Eligible YES”
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what Sam Houston State University reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit.
The $6,200 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in Sam Houston State University's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Texas, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price Sam Houston State University at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Sam Houston State University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
Sam Houston State University's own budget for 2026-27 is $29,420. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Sam Houston State University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Texas A&M Corpus Christi$17,627 a year
- Texas A&M$17,727 a year
- Sam Houston State University$17,912 a year
- UT San Antonio$18,484 a year
- Prairie View A&M$18,675 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Texas college →