Texas A&M University-College Station: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Houston, Texas · Private nonprofit · Most selective · CDS 2024-2025
Texas A&M University-College Station is a private institution located in Houston, Texas and one of the most selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Texas A&M University-College Station admits fewer than 10% of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 8%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1553 and an ACT composite around 35. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $12,640 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Texas A&M University-College Station is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What parents should know about Texas A&M University-College Station right now
Texas A&M University-College Station, founded in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and renamed in 1963, has been the largest university in the United States by enrollment since 2021, with 61,442 undergraduates in fall 2024. The campus spans 5,500 acres and includes the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. Engineering accounts for 29.6 percent of student enrollment, and the institution ranks 16th nationally for research and development with $1.14 billion in spending, joining the Association of American Universities in 2001. The university has a $19.11 billion endowment as of fiscal 2024, one of the largest in U.S. higher education. For the 2024 entering class, the admission rate was 54.2 percent, and the most useful policy for Texas families is automatic admission for the top 6 percent of Texas high school graduates by class rank; engineering, business, and nursing remain the most selective colleges, with holistic admit rates near 35 percent. The standout financial aid feature is the Aggie Assurance program, which provides $0 in tuition for Texas families with adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less, provided they file the FAFSA or TASFA by the priority deadline. The average first-year financial aid package is $17,800, and Texas A&M meets about 67 percent of demonstrated need. The December 1, 2025 priority deadline applies to all majors and scholarships, and FAFSA priority is January 15, 2026.
What GPA does my child need for Texas A&M University-College Station?
Successful applicants to Texas A&M University-College Station typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Texas A&M University-College Station weight in admissions?
Texas A&M University-College Station reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Class rank
- • Academic GPA
- • Standardized test scores
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Interview
- • First generation status
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Texas A&M University-College Station typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 770–800, with an EBRW midpoint near 745. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 34–36. Scores below the 25th-percentile mark are accepted occasionally, but the realistic submission target for most families is the school's middle-50 floor or higher.
| 25th percentile | 1510 |
| 50th percentile | 1540 |
| 75th percentile | 1560 |
| % submitting SAT | 48% |
| 25th percentile | 34 |
| 50th percentile | 35 |
| 75th percentile | 35 |
| % submitting ACT | 22% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Recommended
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 89% |
| Top 25% of class | 96% |
| Top 50% of class | 100% |
| % submitting class rank | 44% |
How much does Texas A&M University-College Station actually cost?
Published tuition is $58,128 for in-state students and $58,128 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $15,900 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $12,640 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 16% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | — |
| Out-of-state tuition | $66,540 |
| Room and board | $19,550 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $12,640 |
| Application fee | $75 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Texas A&M University-College Station
| Regular deadline | January 4 |
| Notification date | April 1 |
| Reply deadline | May 1 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | November 1 |
| ED acceptance rate | 17% |
Will my child graduate from Texas A&M University-College Station?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Other colleges in Texas parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Texas A&M University-College Station
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Texas A&M University-College Station recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Texas A&M University-College Station
What GPA do I need for Texas A&M University-College Station?
Successful applicants to Texas A&M University-College Station typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Texas A&M University-College Station typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 770–800, with an EBRW midpoint near 745. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 34–36.
How much does Texas A&M University-College Station actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Texas A&M University-College Station after grants and scholarships is $12,640 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Texas A&M University-College Station realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Texas A&M University-College Station is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Texas A&M University-College Station, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.