Admissions & Scholarships
Scholarships at Texas State for international undergraduates: how the Assured awards work
Texas State does something many U.S. public universities do not: it publishes exact scholarship amounts and the exact criteria that earn them, and it applies them to international first-year students the same way it applies them to Texans. If you know your test score and class rank, you can read your award off a table before you apply.
Assured scholarships: the table
Assured awards go to first-time freshmen (and transfers with fewer than 15 hours) admitted to San Marcos or Round Rock who meet the criteria before their first term. No separate scholarship application — the admission file is the application.
| Award | Total (4 years) | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| President’s Honor | $48,000 — $12,000/yr | SAT 1420+ or ACT 32+, and top 25% of class (or IB / AP Capstone diploma) |
| Texas State Achievement | $32,000 — $8,000/yr | SAT 1260–1410 or ACT 27–31, and top 25% (or IB / AP Capstone) |
| Texas State Achievement | $32,000 — $8,000/yr | SAT 1160–1250 or ACT 24–26, and top 5% (or IB / AP Capstone) |
| Texas State Achievement | $28,000 — $7,000/yr | Top 6%–15% of class |
| Texas State Achievement | $24,000 — $6,000/yr | Top 16%–25% of class |
| Texas State Distinguished | $20,000 — $5,000/yr | SAT 1160+ or ACT 24+, and top 26%–30% of class |
Two tiers need no test score at all — top 6–15% and top 16–25% of class. Schools that do not rank students can usually provide a percentile letter; ask your counsellor early.
National Merit: the $40,000 award
National Merit finalists and semi-finalists who name Texas State as their first choice with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by 31 May receive $40,000 ($10,000 a year). This matters mostly to students in U.S. or American-curriculum schools who sit the PSAT.
The nonresident tuition waiver: the part people miss
Texas law lets a university charge in-state tuition to a nonresident who holds a competitive scholarship of at least $1,000 from that university. At Texas State, undergraduate nonresident tuition is $25,080 and the resident rate is $12,240 — a difference of roughly $12,840 a year, for each year the scholarship is paid. Every Assured tier above clears the $1,000 threshold.
What this means for your budget
Take the published cost of attendance of about $43,720. A student in the top 25% of class with SAT 1300 would receive $8,000 a year and, with the waiver, pay about $12,840 less in tuition — bringing the year to roughly $22,900 before any other aid. That is the arithmetic behind the claim that Texas State is one of the more affordable large U.S. public universities for a strong international student.
Graduate students are on a different system — departmental scholarships and assistantships. See the international scholarships page for those and for transfer awards.
Award amounts, criteria, tuition rates and waiver rules as published by Texas State University for 2026–27 and reproduced on this site’s scholarships page. Amounts can change between years; the university’s page is the authority.
Find out your tier
Send your SAT/ACT score (if any) and class rank. We will tell you the exact award you qualify for and whether the waiver applies — within 1–2 business days.
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