A public R1 land-grant flagship in College Station, TX, admitting 57.43% of applicants with a $18 billion endowment, strong engineering and agriculture programs, and 10-year median earnings of $72,097.
College Station, Texas
Texas A&M University is a public R1 land-grant research university in College Station, Texas, founded in 1876 as the first public institution of higher education in the state. It enrolls 59,615 undergraduates and 17,611 graduate students across fourteen colleges, including the College of Engineering, the Mays Business School, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Science, and twelve additional schools and colleges. Engineering, business, biological sciences, agriculture, and communications account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Texas A&M is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Texas A&M is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Texas A&M holds a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation, reflecting its role in educating Texas's diverse student population. Texas A&M operates one of the largest endowments of any public university in the United States at approximately $18 billion.
Official website: tamu.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Texas A&M scores 80.25 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (92.93) reflects an 83.91% six-year graduation rate and 94.28% first-year retention. Value scores 71.57, driven by strong ten-year earnings of $72,097 relative to an average net price of $21,315. Affordability scores 30.81. All scores use verified federal data only.
Texas A&M admits 57.43% of applicants, making it among the more accessible large R1 flagship universities in this peer group. Texas A&M is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Texas A&M uses the ApplyTexas or Common App application systems. The application deadline for priority consideration is December 1; the final deadline is January 15.
Admission is to the university overall; some colleges (engineering, business, architecture) are more competitive and may require separate applications after the first year for specific programs. Texas A&M's applicant pool draws heavily from Texas; Texas residents make up the large majority of undergraduates, with the university's in-state tuition and strong job placement in Texas making it the default flagship for many Texas families.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Texas A&M University-College Station is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Texas A&M charges $13,154 in in-state tuition and $40,124 in out-of-state tuition, plus $13,008 in room and board, bringing the estimated in-state total cost of attendance to approximately $32,696 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $21,315 for all students. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $12,784. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $13,317.
For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $26,520. Texas A&M's $18 billion endowment supports significant financial aid capacity; the federal loan rate of 25.65% and median debt of $17,804 are among the lowest in this peer group for a school of this size. Out-of-state students face substantially higher costs at $40,124 in tuition; the net price for out-of-state students is not separately reported by IPEDS and may differ significantly.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Texas A&M completes a strong majority of students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 83.91% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year graduation rate is 76.42%, and first-year retention stands at 94.28%. The federal loan rate of 25.65% and median debt of $17,804 are among the lowest in this peer group, reflecting the effective combination of low in-state tuition and endowment-supported financial aid.
Texas A&M graduates earn above the median for public research universities nationally. Median earnings are $59,386 six years after first enrolling and $72,097 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 87.58% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The strong ten-year earnings reflect Texas A&M's concentration in engineering, business, and biological sciences, with graduates placing in Texas's oil and gas, technology, healthcare, agriculture, and defense sectors.
Texas A&M's engineering graduates are recruited heavily by ExxonMobil, Chevron, Schlumberger, Boeing, and the defense industry. The Texas economy, anchored by Houston's energy sector, the Dallas-Fort Worth technology and financial services corridor, and Austin's technology industry, provides a rich employment environment for Aggie graduates.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Texas A&M enrolls 59,615 undergraduates on its main campus in College Station, Texas, a college city in the Brazos Valley approximately 100 miles west of Houston and 100 miles east of Austin. White students account for 52.38% of undergraduates; Hispanic 25.57%, Asian 13.74%, and Black 2.45%. Approximately 19.64% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 29.95% are first-generation college students, reflecting Texas A&M's significant role in educating the first in their families to attend college.
Texas A&M's campus culture is defined by traditions: the 12th Man (fans who stand throughout football games), Midnight Yell Practice before games, Silver Taps, and Aggie Ring. The Corps of Cadets, a voluntary military training organization, includes approximately 2,000 students and is the largest uniformed body of students outside of the federal service academies. Texas A&M athletics compete in the Southeastern Conference (SEC); Aggie football, baseball, and equestrian draw large followings.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Texas A&M University-College Station. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Texas A&M University-College Station offers an extensive catalog of programs: 296 distinct programs across 28 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Texas A&M operates at a student-to-faculty ratio of 19:1. 88.85% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $19,596 per year. The endowment stands at approximately $18 billion (IPEDS), one of the largest of any public university in the United States, providing significant financial aid capacity and research funding.
The Texas A&M system operates several research agencies, including the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, among the most active in the country. Texas A&M's Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences College and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are among the strongest in the country.
3,219 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 1,046 | 32% | $181,017 |
| Associate Professors | 539 | 17% | $119,796 |
| Assistant Professors | 406 | 13% | $113,213 |
| Instructors | 999 | 31% | $94,345 |
| Lecturers | 229 | 7% | $68,064 |
Texas A&M's defining strengths are its strong UCD 80.25 Strong score, exceptional Aggie culture and alumni loyalty, $18 billion endowment supporting strong financial aid, low federal loan rate (25.65%), and strong ten-year earnings of $72,097 driven by engineering, business, and energy sector placement. UCD 80.25 Strong.
The considerations: College Station is a college city without the major metro employment access of Austin, Houston, or Dallas (though all are within 2 hours); the 19:1 student-to-faculty ratio is high for a flagship; out-of-state tuition ($40,124) is competitive with private university costs; and Aggie culture, while distinctive and positive for many, is intense and may not suit everyone. Best fit for Texas residents who want a flagship R1 research university with strong engineering, agriculture, and business programs, low in-state costs, and one of the most cohesive alumni networks in the country.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Texas A&M: how Aggie traditions work, what the Corps of Cadets is, how in-state cost compares to University of Texas, and what graduates earn in the Texas economy.
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