TCU Announces Free Tuition Plan for Texas Students

Texas Christian University has made a major announcement about tuition and Texas students. And while not every student in Texas will qualify for free tuition, many who may otherwise struggle to pay for tuition could be impacted by the announcement.

TCU Announces Free Tuition

On Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News reported that Texas Christian University, located in Fort Worth, will be offering free tuition for Texas students. The program called TCU for Texans will provide tuition and assistance for food and housing for those eligible students who are first-year students in the fall of 2026.

Who Qualifies for the Free Tuition at TCU

According to TCU, students must be Texas residents, eligible for the Pell Grant, and come from a household with an "adjusted gross income of $70,000 or less".

TCU's Chancellor told the Dallas Morning News that the dollar figure exceeds the average salary of a Texas public school teacher, and that was important to him.

“That number is important to me because that exceeds the average salary of the Texas public school teacher,” Chancellor Daniel Pullin told The Dallas Morning News on campus Tuesday. “So if you’re a child and, say, your parent has made a professional decision to educate the next generation of leaders that we need … you can come and be a Horned Frog.”

According to the Dallas Morning News, tuition at TCU costs around $63,500 while housing and food for a full-time on-campus student is around $18,020. About 80% of TCU students receive financial aid.