Texas State University

Public · Moderately Selective · TX

Photo: Liveon001 (c)Travis Witt (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationTX · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads36,177

Student:faculty21:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate33.6%

6-yr grad rate55.3%

Drop-out rate19.9%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$11k

Out-of-state tuition$23k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity63.6%

Gender diversity59.5%

International2%

Identity—

Overview

Texas State University sits on the San Marcos River between Austin and San Antonio, combining a scenic Hill Country setting with the breadth of a major public university. Its long teacher-preparation tradition, dating back to its origins as Southwest Texas State Normal School, still shapes its institutional identity even as it has grown into one of the largest universities in the state, with steady enrollment growth that has made it an increasingly prominent name in Texas higher education.

Academics

Teacher preparation remains a signature strength, joined by well-regarded programs in criminal justice, business, and health professions, plus a growing engineering presence at the university's Round Rock campus near Austin's tech corridor. The university offers large-school course variety with room for closer work in upper-division major coursework, and its mass communication and respiratory care programs carry particular regional reputations.

Campus & student life

The San Marcos River running directly through campus is a defining feature, popular for tubing and river recreation and giving the university a recreational, outdoorsy undertone unusual among Texas public schools. The location between two major metro areas gives students easy access to Austin's live-music and job scene and San Antonio's culture and history. Bobcat athletics and a lively Greek and student-organization scene round out campus life, and the historic Old Main building anchors a campus built across a series of hills overlooking the river.

Getting in

Admission is generally accessible and grade/coursework-driven rather than heavily holistic, making the university a popular choice for Texas students who want size, a scenic location, and proximity to Austin without an intensely competitive process. The university has also become a significant transfer destination for students starting at Central Texas community colleges.

After graduation

Education graduates place widely across Texas school districts, continuing the university's normal-school heritage, while criminal justice and business graduates find steady placement in both Austin and San Antonio's growing job markets. The university's proximity to Austin has increasingly pulled graduates into the city's technology and corporate sector as well.

Worth knowing

Its association with LBJ, its most famous education graduate, is a point of institutional pride commemorated across campus, and the river-adjacent campus gives it a recreational character distinct from most Texas public universities. The university has also grown unusually fast in recent decades, and that growth is visible in ongoing construction and an expanding footprint beyond the original hilltop campus.

txst.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate89.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 980–1200 · ACT 19–25

Test policyrequired

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Own application, Common App, or ApplyTexas.

Priority / scholarshipDec 1

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗