Fort Worth, TX · Private · 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 Texas Christian 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
$168,538
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $10,900.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Texas Christian 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 Texas Christian University
| Full price | $89,533 |
| After grants, at your income | $36,618 |
80% of first-year students here got a grant or scholarship from the college in 2023-24, $33,125 on average.
At this income, 57 of Texas's other 58 colleges cost less after grants, and 1 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. For 2026-2027, competitive academic scholarships pay $12,000 to $32,000 a year for up to eight semesters, and the Chancellor's Scholarship pays full tuition and fees. The admission application is the scholarship application.
Texas Christian University's promise. TCU for Texans: full tuition for Pell-eligible Texas first-year students with family income of $100,000 or less. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Texas Christian University, our scenarios for Texas households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,700 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 Texas Christian University says it awards for grades and test scores.
For 2026-2027, competitive academic scholarships pay $12,000 to $32,000 a year for up to eight semesters, and the Chancellor's Scholarship pays full tuition and fees. The admission application is the scholarship application.
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.
TCU for Texans: full tuition for Pell-eligible Texas first-year students with family income of $100,000 or less
Household income up to $100,000. Covers tuition.
- The $100,000 limit assumes reasonable assets, which TCU counts as cash, savings, investments, home equity, business net worth and other real estate equity. The student applies in the fall, is Pell-eligible, and sends the FAFSA and CSS Profile by November 1 for full consideration.
- It also gives help with food and housing, in amounts set each year, and guarantees on-campus housing for four years. Fees, books and other expenses are not covered. It renews each year while need continues.
“For qualifying first-year Texas students, the TCU for Texans initiative provides full tuition support, food and housing assistance and guaranteed on-campus housing for four years. Do I qualify for TCU for Texans? We see your potential and want to help you reach it. If you meet the following criteria, you may qualify for a tuition-free TCU education and receive additional financial assistance for food and housing. You’re applying as a fall semester first-year student You’re a Texas resident You’re Pell Grant eligible with a family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $100,000 or less* *Assuming reasonable assets”
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 Texas Christian 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.
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 $6,700 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in Texas Christian 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 Texas Christian 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.
Grants from the college
How many first-year students got a grant from Texas Christian University, and the average, are the Department of Education's figures for full-time students who started in 2023-24. They cover every income. The prices after grants already count these grants, so don't take them off again. The Department of Education's page for Texas Christian University →
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Texas Christian University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 4.0% 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 average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Texas Christian University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Concordia University Texas$32,140 a year
- Southwestern University$32,598 a year
- Texas Christian University$36,618 a year
- Baylor University$46,814 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Texas college →