Is Texas Southern University Worth It?

Texas Southern University asks you to take on real financial risk. You'll pay close to $20,000 a year regardless of your family income, and the median graduate earns under $39,000 a decade after enrolling. The bigger problem sits before graduation: fewer than one in five students finishes, and only 57% return after freshman year. If you borrow the typical $29,000 and don't finish, you carry the debt with none of the degree's earning power.

Your major decides whether the math works. Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science pays around $50,800 and Electrical Engineering Technologies near $44,900 , both clear the net price hurdle and connect to Houston's medical and energy employers. Business Administration and Computer and Information Sciences land close to the school median, roughly $37,000-$38,000, which barely covers the debt you'd take on to get there. A computer science degree that pays $37,208 with $27,000 in loans is a thin return for that field.

The net price tiers are the specific risk here. TSU charges families earning under $30,000 essentially the same as families earning $48,000-$75,000 , about $19,200 to $19,700 across the board. There's no meaningful discount for lower income, so a Pell-eligible family faces the same roughly $20,000 yearly bill as a middle-income one. Combined with the 20% graduation rate, low-income students shoulder the most exposure.

TSU makes financial sense if you commit to the lab science or engineering technology tracks and are confident you'll graduate. If you're undecided, or drawn to business or general computing at these prices, the payoff is weak and the completion odds work against you. Look hard at whether you can finish before you sign for the loans.