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Texas A&M University · Texas

Texas A&M scholarships and merit aid

Public flagship whose named academic awards (President's Endowed, Lechner, McFadden, President's Achievement, Century) are holistic rather than stat-automatic — and whose guaranteed National Merit package clears the $4,000 line that triggers the non-resident tuition waiver, the real out-of-state prize.

Verified Jul 202629 days ago· PT

The short answer

Is Texas A&M worth a closer look?

Texas A&M is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 7 published awards, and 2 are based on those numbers.

See our full reasoning

Worth optimizing for if your student is a National Merit Finalist — or an out-of-state applicant who can clear the $4,000 scholarship line. A weaker play if you're chasing the holistic academic awards on stats alone.

Texas A&M's richest published merit lever is National Merit. The single biggest computable dollar move is Semifinalist to Finalist, where the guaranteed package jumps from $3,250/yr ($13,000 over four years) to $10,750/yr ($43,000) — a +$7,500/yr swing and the largest step in the ladder. The named academic awards are holistic, not stat-automatic, and A&M publishes dollar figures for only some of them: the President's Endowed is $3,000/yr and Century Scholars is $5,000/yr, while Lechner, McFadden, and President's Achievement carry no published amount at all — you cannot price them off a GPA or test cutoff, and any dollar figure you see for them on aggregator sites is unofficial. Stacking is split: A&M does NOT stack Academic Scholarships (you get only the single highest-dollar award), but National Merit packages explicitly stack on top of other freshman scholarships. For non-residents, $4,000+ per year in eligible competitive A&M scholarships — with every contributing award worth at least $1,000 — triggers the Competitive Scholarship Non-Resident Tuition Waiver, the real OOS prize, and exactly what the Finalist package clears. Hard deadline: December 1 priority for the academic scholarship pathway.

Merit tiers72 based on grades or scores
First-year students with school awards14%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

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Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

$3,000/yr × 4 years…$3,000/yr × 4 years ($12,000 total) plus a one-time $1,000 education-abroad stipend

President's Endowed Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Holistic review of academic achievement, leadership, activities, and employment
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Apply through Common App / Apply Texas plus the STAR (Self-Reported Transcript Academic Record). December 1 priority deadline. Guaranteed to admitted National Merit Semifinalists and Finalists.

How to keep it

Maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPR; attendance at an annual donor event in the fall is required.

Notes

Top of A&M's four-year academic ladder and a named eligible scholarship for the non-resident tuition waiver. Funded by donor endowments via the Texas A&M Foundation.

Source

Amount not published by Texas A&M

Lechner Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Holistic review — offered to the most competitive students based on academic and co-curricular achievement
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Same Common App / Apply Texas + STAR pathway as the President's Endowed; December 1 deadline.

How to keep it

Maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPR; subject to the 30/60/90 credit-hour progression rule.

Notes

Texas A&M does not publish a dollar figure for the Lechner Scholarship on any current official page; treat any specific amount seen on aggregator sites as unofficial. Recipients qualify for the one-time $1,000 education-abroad stipend. Funded by the late Walter W. Lechner.

Source

Amount not published by Texas A&M

McFadden Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Holistic review — offered to the most competitive students based on academic and co-curricular achievement
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Limited to residents of Dallas or Tarrant County. Same December 1 application path as President's Endowed and Lechner.

How to keep it

Renewal GPR listed as 3.5 in the 2026-2027 Scholarship Handbook's summary table (the handbook's narrative text says 3.0 — an internal inconsistency in TAMU's own document; confirm with Scholarships & Financial Aid). Subject to the 30/60/90 rule.

Notes

No published dollar figure. Residency-restricted to Dallas and Tarrant counties. One unusual published rule: if the student becomes eligible for a non-resident tuition waiver by earning $4,000+ in scholarships, McFadden payments are permanently terminated. Funded by the Ella C. McFadden Trust.

Source

Amount not published by Texas A&M

President's Achievement Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Limited to graduates of recruited (targeted) Texas high schools. Selection is competitive: academic achievement under difficult circumstances, co-curricular involvement, campus and community activities, leadership, employment, and the STAR record.

How to keep it

Maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPR (lower than the 3.5 PES/Lechner bar); four-year award with annual requalification.

Notes

No published dollar figure. Beginning Fall 2025, recipients may receive matching funds from Texas A&M University System sources under President's Achievement II (match amount also unpublished). Companion to the Century Scholars Program.

Source

$5,000/yr × 4 years…$5,000/yr × 4 years ($20,000 total) plus a one-time $1,000 education-abroad stipend

Century Scholars Program

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Must graduate from one of TAMU's designated partner Texas high schools; must not be classified as an out-of-state student. Awarded based on academic achievement, leadership, and community involvement.

How to keep it

Maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPR (students entering before Fall 2026) or a 2.5 GPR (students entering Fall 2026 or later).

Notes

Highest published annual amount among the named academic tiers per Scholarships & Financial Aid. A related Century Plus Scholarship can add funding; its amount is not published. Note: TAMU's Office for Student Success page separately describes Century as 'up to $40,000 over four years' — an official-source discrepancy with the $5,000/yr base figure, most plausibly a combined Century + Century Plus ceiling; confirm with Scholarships & Financial Aid before budgeting above $20,000.

Source

$43,000 over 4 years…$43,000 over 4 years ($10,750/yr): President's Endowed $3,000/yr + National Merit Recognition $7,000/yr + National Merit Sponsorship $500/yr + one-time $1,000 study-abroad stipend

National Merit Finalist Package

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Be confirmed as a National Merit Finalist by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation AND name Texas A&M as your first-choice institution in the NMSC portal. Enroll at TAMU College Station. The $500/yr Sponsorship additionally requires NOT receiving a National- or Corporate-sponsored NMSC award.

How to keep it

Components renew per their own rules: President's Endowed and NM Recognition at a 3.5 GPR, NM Sponsorship at a 2.0 GPR. Finalists who need a 5th undergraduate year can apply for a $3,000 supplemental ($1,500/semester).

Notes

Guaranteed offer for enrolled Finalists. Crosses the $4,000 eligible-scholarship threshold and triggers the non-resident tuition waiver for OOS Finalists — the waiver, not the cash, is the biggest dollar lever for non-residents.

Source

$13,000 over 4 years…$13,000 over 4 years ($3,250/yr): President's Endowed $3,000/yr + one-time $1,000 study-abroad stipend

National Merit Semifinalist Package

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

National Merit Semifinalist designation confirmed by NMSC; enroll at TAMU College Station as a fall freshman.

How to keep it

President's Endowed renewal at 3.5 GPR.

Notes

Smaller than the Finalist package but still guaranteed and stackable with other competitive freshman scholarships announced in February.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Texas A&M's published information.

  • cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$7,500/yr ($10,750 − $3,250)

    Texas A&M publishes a tier ladder where crossing National Merit Semifinalist → Finalist changes the marginal value by +$7,500/yr ($10,750 − $3,250). Largest computable step in the entire ladder. The only true stat/qualification cliff worth optimizing for; Finalist also clears the $4,000 line for the OOS non-resident tuition waiver.

  • renewalPresident's Endowed Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPR; attendance at an annual donor event in the fall is required. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What families often miss

  1. President's Endowed, Lechner, and McFadden share the same eligibility criteria but do not stack. If you qualify for more than one, TAMU offers only the highest-dollar award. Plan your application narrative around a single best-fit story rather than chasing every tier.

  2. TAMU's freshman scholarship application closes December 1 (with a Monday-after-weekend grace if it falls on a weekend). Students who push admission past this date can still be admitted but lose access to the named four-year academic ladder entirely.

  3. Freshman scholarship review requires both the Common App / Apply Texas application AND the STAR self-reported transcript record. Submitting only the admission application leaves you ineligible for scholarship review even if your transcript is otherwise strong.

  4. The $7,000/yr National Merit Recognition Award is conditional on naming Texas A&M as your first-choice institution with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by the NMSC deadline. Finalists who delay this step lose the largest single piece of the package ($28,000 over 4 years).

  5. TAMU's Competitive Scholarship Non-Resident Tuition Waiver requires $4,000+ in eligible TAMU-awarded competitive scholarships per academic year, with each contributing scholarship worth at least $1,000. National Merit Finalists clear this easily ($10,750/yr); most Semifinalists do not ($3,000/yr from PES alone). Outside scholarships never count toward the threshold. Plan stacking with at least one additional competitive scholarship to cross the line.

See award cutoffs and special programs

What each profile actually lands

Annual dollar figures are per the named tier where Texas A&M publishes one. National Merit awards are the only stat-automatic tiers; the named academic scholarships are holistic and cannot be triggered by stats alone, so they are not pinned to a GPA or test cutoff.

Student profileLikely outcome
Holistic academic award — Lechner / McFadden / President's AchievementFour-year renewable named award — dollar value not published by Texas A&MSelected by holistic review, not stats. McFadden is limited to Dallas and Tarrant County residents; President's Achievement is limited to recruited Texas high schools and renews at a 2.75 GPR. Recipients also qualify for a one-time $1,000 education-abroad stipend.
Holistic academic award — President's Endowed Scholarship$3,000/yr × 4 ($12,000) + one-time $1,000 education-abroad stipendTop of the four-year holistic academic ladder; 3.5 GPR to renew.
National Merit Semifinalist · TAMU College Station$3,250/yr ($13,000 over 4 years)Automatic on the NMSC Semifinalist designation. Stackable with other competitive freshman scholarships.
Recruited Texas HS · Century Scholars selection$5,000/yr × 4 ($20,000)Highest published annual dollar amount among the named academic tiers. Renewal GPR is 2.75 for students who entered before Fall 2026 and 2.5 for students entering Fall 2026 or later.
National Merit Finalist · TAMU first-choice with NMSC$10,750/yr ($43,000 over 4 years)Richest published package here. Clears the $4,000 eligible-scholarship line that triggers the OOS non-resident tuition waiver.

Where the dollars actually jump

Deltas are computable only between tiers with published values. Holistic academic awards are not stat-triggered — and several carry no published dollar figure at all — so the National Merit ladder is the only honest arithmetic at A&M.

ThresholdMarginal value
National Merit Semifinalist → Finalist+$7,500/yr ($10,750 − $3,250)Largest computable step in the entire ladder. The only true stat/qualification cliff worth optimizing for; Finalist also clears the $4,000 line for the OOS non-resident tuition waiver.
Non-resident: below vs above the $4,000/yr competitive-scholarship lineResident tuition rate unlocked (the tuition differential is worth more than most named awards)TAMU's Competitive Scholarship Non-Resident Tuition Waiver requires $4,000+ per year in eligible TAMU competitive scholarships, each worth at least $1,000. The NM Finalist package clears it; the Semifinalist package ($3,250/yr) does not on its own.

Texas A&M President's Endowed Scholarship

The flagship of A&M's named academic ladder: $3,000/yr for four years ($12,000) plus a one-time $1,000 education-abroad stipend, funded through donor endowments via the Texas A&M Foundation. Selection is holistic — academic achievement, leadership, activities, employment — with no published GPA or test cutoff, evaluated from the Common App/Apply Texas application plus the STAR self-reported record by the December 1 freshman scholarship deadline. It renews at a 3.5 cumulative GPR and requires attending an annual donor event. Two properties matter more than the dollar amount: it is guaranteed to admitted National Merit Semifinalists and Finalists, and it is a named eligible scholarship for the Competitive Scholarship Non-Resident Tuition Waiver. Academic Scholarships do not stack — qualify for more than one and A&M offers only the highest-dollar award.

Source

Texas A&M National Merit Finalist Package

Finalists who name Texas A&M first choice in the NMSC portal and enroll at College Station receive a guaranteed stack: the President's Endowed Scholarship ($3,000/yr), the National Merit Recognition Scholarship ($7,000/yr), the National Merit Sponsorship ($500/yr, only for Finalists not receiving a National- or Corporate-sponsored NMSC award), and a one-time $1,000 study-abroad stipend — $43,000 over four years, with a $3,000 fifth-year supplemental available by application. Semifinalists get a guaranteed $13,000 version (President's Endowed + stipend). For non-residents the real value is indirect: the package clears the $4,000/yr eligible-scholarship line that triggers the non-resident tuition waiver, converting the out-of-state bill to resident rates.

Source

Texas A&M Competitive Scholarship Non-Resident Tuition Waiver

Texas Education Code §54.213 lets Texas publics waive non-resident tuition for students holding competitive scholarships — and A&M sets its undergraduate bar at $4,000 per academic year in eligible competitive scholarships, with every contributing award worth at least $1,000. Only scholarships awarded by a TAMU college or department committee through a genuinely competitive process count: automatic stat-based awards and outside scholarships do not qualify. The President's Endowed and National Merit Recognition Scholarships are named eligible awards. There is no GPA floor to keep the waiver beyond maintaining the underlying scholarships, and beginning Spring 2026 a lawful-presence documentation requirement applies under Texas Administrative Code Rule 13.465.

Source

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

In-state Texas families and out-of-state National Merit Scholars who want a named, four-year, source-stated merit award rather than holistic-only review. Texas A&M is especially strong for high-achieving Texas residents from recruited high schools (Century / President's Achievement) and for National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist students nationally. Finalists who name TAMU first-choice get a stacked package (President's Endowed + National Merit Recognition + Sponsorship + study abroad) plus the non-resident tuition waiver.

Cost of attendance$32,414–$59,715 for 2024-2025Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$59,715
In-state, on-campus$32,414
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal

Texas A&M official Common Data Set 2024-2025 (abpa.tamu.edu), Sections G1/G5, first-year full-time undergraduate. The main tamu.edu COA page is calculator-only; CDS is the official published itemization. Tuition & fees = CDS tuition + required fees; Housing & food = CDS on-campus food-and-housing; Personal = CDS 'Other expenses'.

Texas A&M cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Texas A&M, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Texas A&M, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$12,784
$30,001–$48,000$13,317
$48,001–$75,000$17,435
$75,001–$110,000$26,520
$110,001+$30,660
All income levels (average)$21,315

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$13,154
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$40,124
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$21,315

That works out to roughly a 35% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $32,696 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Texas A&M is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
84%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
94%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$17,804 (~$189/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$72,097
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
22%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
27%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): If a student receives any type of award, such as scholarships or corporate sponsorships, from a source other than Texas A&M, it must be reported to Scholarships & Financial Aid as soon as possible. The aid offer may be adjusted to meet the guidelines of the aid program rules. If funds have already been disbursed and the student is no longer eligible, the student may be required to repay financial assistance from those aid programs. When possible, Texas A&M always tries to reduce self-help aid, such as loans or work-study, before reducing any other gift aid. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: National Merit awards are an exception: they stack on top of other freshman scholarships. National Merit Semifinalist and Finalist packages explicitly stack with other competitive freshman scholarship offers announced in February. (per https://aggie.tamu.edu/financial-aid/types-of-aid/scholarships/undergraduate-scholarships/academic-scholarships)

Source

More school data

From the Texas A&M Common Data Set 2025-2026:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Texas A&M’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
14%of admitsget merit
Average award$4,751Covers ~8% of $59,715 cost of attendance

At Texas A&M, roughly 1 in 7 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $4,751 — about 8% of total cost.

SAT mid-50%1160–139025th / 75th percentile
ACT mid-50%24–3225th / 75th percentile
Receive institutional merit14%First-year students
Average merit award$4,751Across recipients

Source: Common Data Set

Other Texas A&M scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountUp to $6,000/year for up to 4 years (students entering Fall 2020 or later)EligibilityTexas-resident, first-generation freshmen (neither parent holds a bachelor's degree) with family income under $50,000 per the FAFSA/TASFA; must live on campus the entire first year. Limited to roughly 850 students per year, offered first-come, first-served — FAFSA/TASFA by the February 15 priority date.

FAFSA/TASFA renewal annually plus SAP and the 30/60/90 credit-hour rule. Strong fit for high-achieving first-gen Texas applicants who don't otherwise have a clear named-scholarship path. Non-residents are not eligible.

Source

AmountUp to total cost of attendance (SAI and other awards considered)EligibilityMost competitive incoming-freshmen Texas residents. Requires an additional leadership essay submitted via Common App / Apply Texas.

Donor-funded through the Terry Foundation; structured to close the gap to total COA after other aid. Highly selective.

Source

AmountVariableEligibilityTargeted Texas-resident populations; tied to the Greater Texas Foundation's college-completion mission.

Source

AmountVariableEligibilityDonor-driven program with leadership and service emphasis; partnered with the Brown Foundation.

Source

Amount$3,000 one-time ($1,500/semester)EligibilityNational Merit Finalists who attend TAMU for more than four calendar years and have used all four years of the standard Merit Recognition Award.

Apply via the Request for National Merit 5th Year Stipend form; allows the Recognition Award to extend a fifth year of study.

Source

Texas A&M merit aid FAQ

  • Does Texas A&M have automatic merit scholarships based on SAT/ACT or GPA?

    No. Texas A&M's named four-year scholarships (President's Endowed, Lechner, McFadden, President's Achievement, Century) are awarded based on a holistic review of academic achievement, leadership, community involvement, and employment; there is no automatic stat-band merit table. The exception is the National Merit Semifinalist / Finalist package, which is guaranteed to students who hold those NMSC designations and enroll at TAMU.

  • Can I stack the President's Endowed Scholarship with the Lechner or McFadden Scholarships?

    No. Texas A&M does not stack named Academic Scholarships. Students who qualify for more than one are offered only the single highest-dollar award. National Merit Semifinalist and Finalist awards are different; they explicitly stack on top of other competitive freshman scholarships.

  • What is Texas A&M's freshman scholarship deadline?

    The freshman scholarship application closes December 1 each year (with a grace extension to the following Monday if December 1 falls on a weekend). Students must complete the Common App or Apply Texas application AND the Self-Reported Transcript Academic Record (STAR — some TAMU pages still call it the SRAR) by that date.

  • How does Texas A&M's National Merit Finalist package work?

    Confirmed Finalists who name Texas A&M as their first-choice institution with the NMSC and enroll at TAMU College Station receive the President's Endowed Scholarship ($3,000/yr × 4), the National Merit Recognition Award ($7,000/yr × 4), the National Merit Sponsorship ($500/yr × 4), and a one-time $1,000 study-abroad stipend, totaling $43,000 over four years. Finalists also clear the $4,000 eligible-scholarship threshold for the non-resident tuition waiver.

  • Are outside (private) scholarships allowed at Texas A&M?

    Yes, but you must report them via Texas A&M's Report Outside Scholarships form. Outside scholarships are considered a financial resource and may affect need-based aid eligibility under federal rules. For non-residents, outside scholarships do NOT count toward the $4,000 eligible-scholarship threshold for the non-resident tuition waiver; only TAMU-awarded scholarships qualify.

  • Can the President's Achievement and Century Scholars Program be combined?

    Both target designated Texas partner high schools. Per the no-stacking policy on Academic Scholarships, students who qualify for more than one are offered only the single highest-dollar award, not both. Note their renewal bars differ slightly: President's Achievement renews at a 2.75 GPR, while Century renews at 2.75 for pre-Fall-2026 entrants and 2.5 for students entering Fall 2026 or later.

  • How do out-of-state students get in-state tuition at Texas A&M?

    Through the Competitive Scholarship Non-Resident Tuition Waiver: a non-resident who is awarded and maintains $4,000+ per academic year in eligible TAMU competitive scholarships (each worth at least $1,000) qualifies to pay the resident tuition rate. Only competitively awarded TAMU scholarships count — automatic awards and outside scholarships do not. The National Merit Finalist package clears the line on its own, which is why NMF status is the most reliable out-of-state path to resident rates at A&M.

See sources and other schools

How Texas A&M compares

  • 147 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Texas A&M is in a recognizable cluster (147 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 667 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Texas A&M is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

  • 63 of 749 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

    Texas A&M is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Texas A&M’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

How Texas A&M compares

Families looking at Texas A&M typically also evaluate four other in-state Texas privates and the SEC merit ladder:

  • SMU Distinguished Scholars and Hunt Scholars. SMU runs a much higher-dollar private-school ladder (full tuition Hunt and President's Scholar) but for a fraction of A&M's accepted-applicant pool. SMU is the private-school complement to A&M's public-flagship merit story.
  • TCU Chancellor's Scholarship. TCU's named merit awards run higher in absolute dollars but its admit rate is tighter; TCU competes for the same Texas honors student A&M targets through the President's Endowed.
  • Baylor President's Gold and Provost. Baylor publishes a more transparent automatic-merit table with stat-band stacking; A&M does not auto-award by stats but its named ladder is renewable for 4 years on a 3.5 GPR.
  • Alabama Presidential ladder. Alabama out-of-state merit is automatic and formula-driven (ACT × GPA); A&M is application-based with a December 1 deadline. Alabama is the play for OOS predictability; A&M is the play for high-fit Texas applicants and National Merit Finalists.
Want a side-by-side comparison? Build a personalized playbook and we’ll compare likely costs across Texas A&M and any peers you want to evaluate.

Keep exploring Texas A&M merit aid