College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Texas Christian University

TXLarge private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #548 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Texas Christian University #548 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Texas Christian University is a private nonprofit university in Fort Worth, Texas, whose degree mix is led by Business and Communication & Journalism. Return is well above average, while affordability is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Aid covers a little over half the published cost for the average aid recipient, and the spread between what the lowest and highest income bands pay is wide. Pell students complete below the overall rate, and mobility is above average.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

TCU at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
44.5%
Six-year completion[2]
85.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$76,188

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,940
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$54,925

TCU rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Texas Christian University is a private nonprofit university in Fort Worth, Texas, enrolling 11,026 undergraduates. It sits near the middle of the Azimuth composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (63rd percentile).

The university admits 44.5% of applicants, against a median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Once enrolled, most full-time first-year students stay, with 92.9% returning after the first year compared with a peer median of 90.1%.

85.5% of the first-time full-time cohort finish within six years, which is above the peer median of 80.0%. An estimated 12.6% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year graduation rate describes the first-time full-time cohort rather than the entire student body.

The four are spread far apart. Return is the strongest (85th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (7th percentile). Access and mobility sit between them (69th and 71st percentiles).

Return is the clearest strength at Texas Christian University, although affordability pulls the overall picture in the other direction. Azimuth places return in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, making it the strongest pillar.

Mobility is in the 71st percentile and access in the 69th percentile. Affordability, the weakest pillar, is in the 7th percentile.

14.3% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the financial-access measure for the entering class. With no test score data for admitted students, the profile rests on that share alone.

Azimuth ranks Texas Christian University #455 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 80.4%, below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole by 5.1 percentage points.

That gap is the distance between the two rates, expressed in percentage points and offered without explanation of its cause. The share of undergraduates receiving the grant and the size of that gap together give the access pillar its shape.

Azimuth ranks the university #419 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students, the result for earnings beyond expectations that appears alongside the Pell completion picture.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

TCU rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#548
Texas#43
South#191

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 71
Access & reach
National percentile: 69
Affordability
National percentile: 7
Return on investment
National percentile: 85

01 / TCU briefing

TCU cost & financial aid[6][7]

Texas Christian University pairs a high published cost with aid that reduces what recipients pay, though its average post-aid price remains above comparable institutions. The published cost of attendance is $76,604, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus tuition and fees are $61,740, and room and board is $16,700. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $36,660.

Financial aid savings of $39,944 offset the published cost for that group. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median, the middle value for those institutions, is $36,211; the university's is $449 above it.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,318 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The above-peer price and affordability standing point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at Texas Christian University is $76,604 (an average across living arrangements), with family income shaping what aid recipients pay. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,956 in the lowest family-income band, $16,980 in the lower-middle band, $17,940 in the middle band, $34,990 in the upper-middle band, and $53,450 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $35,494. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places the university at #1,318 for affordability.

Aid covers about 52% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, or $39,944 against the sticker price. For first-time full-time Title IV aid recipients, the average net price is $36,660.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $36,211, making the university's average net price $449 above that figure. Published tuition and fees are $61,740, and room and board are $16,700.

Aid offsets much of the published price, but the overall net price sits above the comparable-institution median. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $21,500, and 85.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median debt of $23,168, leaving the university $1,668 below that amount. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

For parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $54,925.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,940

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at TCU

Borrowing is common at Texas Christian University, with 85.3% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $21,500.

Against the $23,168 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), that median is below by $1,668. Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $54,925.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 34% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $46,027 in cumulative borrowing per borrower. The institution's figures include 33% of graduates with federal loans, averaging $20,076. They also include 7% of graduates with private loans, averaging $50,171.

At Texas Christian University, the return picture combines relatively high earnings with a small shortfall against the model. Graduates working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $76,188 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios put downside earnings at $57,680, typical earnings at $76,188, and upside earnings at $108,904.

Median federal debt is $21,500, below the peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—of $23,168 by $1,668. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

The earnings ranking and lower borrowing are favorable signals, but the model's expectation measure is less positive.

For families weighing parent borrowing, median Parent PLUS borrowing was $54,925 among parent borrowers, a population separate from student federal borrowers. Median federal student debt was $21,500, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$54,925

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$698/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / TCU briefing

TCU career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled at Texas Christian University have median earnings of $76,188. Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 85th percentile and the return pillar in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students. That places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 48th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,661. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,342.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $83,615; the university is $7,427 below it.

At Texas Christian University, the median earnings for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled is $76,188 four years after completion. This figure, drawn from a cohort of 1,723 completers, places the university at the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical figure of $76,188, with a downside scenario of $57,680 and an upside scenario of $108,904.

An estimated 26.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The median earnings for Texas Christian University graduates who are working and not enrolled reach $76,188 four years after they complete a degree, placing the figure at the 85th percentile. Against the $83,615 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), the university falls $7,427 below that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks the university #218 for return among all nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students.

The gap is at the 48th percentile. Earnings sit below both the model's expectation and the comparable peer median.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,661. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,342.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component alone adds $208. Programs concentrate in business, communication and health fields, with finance and nursing among the larger degree program areas.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix reach $108,904 at the high end and $57,680 at the low end, showing a wide range across fields. An estimated 26.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Program choice makes a wide difference in the modeled earnings picture at Texas Christian University. The downside scenario is $57,680, while the upside scenario is $108,904; both are earnings scenarios from the program mix rather than observed groups.

At Texas Christian University, costs differ sharply across family-income bands, even though completers borrow less than their peers. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $36,660 overall, above the $36,211 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

For aid recipients in the lowest income band, the average net price is $17,956; it is $16,980 in the next-lowest band, $17,940 in the middle band, $34,990 in the next-highest band, and $53,450 in the highest band. Borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $21,500, below the $23,168 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students.

Lower borrower debt sits alongside higher net prices and below-expected earnings, leaving a mixed return picture.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,661
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$12,342
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$1,681

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / TCU briefing

TCU acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At 44.5%, admission to Texas Christian University was less common than at its comparable institutions. The rate is below the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 22,680 first-year applicants, 10,906 admitted applicants, and 2,754 enrolled students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
44.5%
25th percentile
1110
Median
1240
75th percentile
1330

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / TCU briefing

What are the largest majors at TCU?[12]

Texas Christian University shows a wide program-level earnings range four years after completion, making field choice especially relevant to the return picture. Computer Systems Analysis posts median earnings of $121,734 and awarded 63 degrees.

Finance, a much larger program, recorded $111,304 in median earnings with 212 degrees awarded. Other large fields sit at more moderate earnings levels.

Marketing had median earnings of $97,148 four years after completion and awarded 137 degrees. Communication and Media Studies recorded $63,531 with 123 degrees awarded.

The contrast between these fields and the higher-earning programs shows that the school-level earnings figure masks substantial variation by field.

Business accounts for 29.1% of bachelor’s degrees awarded at Texas Christian University, making business-oriented choices a central part of its program mix. Among the largest programs, four-year median earnings range widely: Finance awarded 212 degrees and reports $111,304; Nursing awarded 180 degrees and reports $89,690; Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication awarded 150 degrees and reports $71,186; Marketing awarded 137 degrees and reports $97,148; and Communication and Media Studies awarded 123 degrees and reports $63,531.

That range means the financial picture differs markedly across the university’s most common degree paths, even within its largest program family.

The degree mix at Texas Christian University leans heavily toward Business, which accounts for 29.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Communication & Journalism is the second-largest family at 14.3%, followed by Health Professions at 10.3%.

The largest single programs are Finance with 212 degrees awarded and Nursing with 180 degrees awarded, across 30 programs with published four-year earnings data. The highest-earning program is Computer Systems Analysis, where graduates earn $121,734 four years after completion, which is 1.54x the national median for its field.

The program awards 63 degrees a year. Management Science is even smaller, with 11 degrees awarded, but its graduates earn $114,822.

The pattern is one of concentrated strength in business and a handful of technical fields. The largest programs in communication and media studies earn less than the university's top earners, and 11.3% of degrees are in STEM fields. The highest-earning programs are among the smaller ones by degree count.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Finance and Financial Management Services 212 degrees awarded
$111,304
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 180 degrees awarded
$89,690
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 150 degrees awarded
$71,186
Marketing 137 degrees awarded
$97,148
Communication and Media Studies 123 degrees awarded
$63,531
Accounting and Related Services 116 degrees awarded
$101,938

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / TCU briefing

How does TCU serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion gives the mobility picture a favorable starting point: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 85.5%, and Pell recipients complete at 80.4%, below the overall rate by 5.1 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,681 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The completion results and mobility standing point in the same direction, though the modeled earnings comparison is lower than expected.

An admission rate of 44.5% gives applicants a clear starting point, and Texas Christian University enrolls 11,026 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients account for 14.3% of undergraduates, while an estimated 12.6% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Enrollment and entry measures sit alongside an access standing above the middle of that national cohort.

06 / TCU briefing

What colleges are similar to TCU?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with TCU.

Admissions peerBaylor University51.3% admitted
Comparison with TCU
MeasureTCUBaylor University
Peer earnings · 4 years$76,188$69,608-$6,580 vs TCU
Average annual net price$36,660$41,104+$4,444 vs TCU · higher cost
Admission rate44.5%51.3%
Explore Baylor University →
Higher-admission alternativeThe University of Texas at Dallas65.1% admitted
Comparison with TCU
MeasureTCUThe University of Texas at Dallas
Peer earnings · 4 years$76,188$76,497+$309 vs TCU
Average annual net price$36,660$18,267-$18,393 vs TCU · lower cost
Admission rate44.5%65.1%
Explore The University of Texas at Dallas →
Nearby alternativeBaylor UniversityNearby option · TX
Comparison with TCU
MeasureTCUBaylor University
Peer earnings · 4 years$76,188$69,608-$6,580 vs TCU
Average annual net price$36,660$41,104+$4,444 vs TCU · higher cost
Admission rate44.5%51.3%
Explore Baylor University →
Higher-earnings alternativeBentley University$108,577 earnings
Comparison with TCU
MeasureTCUBentley University
Peer earnings · 4 years$76,188$108,577+$32,389 vs TCU
Average annual net price$36,660$37,930+$1,270 vs TCU · higher cost
Admission rate44.5%45.1%
Explore Bentley University →
Lower-cost alternativeThe University of Texas at Dallas$18,267 average net price
Comparison with TCU
MeasureTCUThe University of Texas at Dallas
Peer earnings · 4 years$76,188$76,497+$309 vs TCU
Average annual net price$36,660$18,267-$18,393 vs TCU · lower cost
Admission rate44.5%65.1%
Explore The University of Texas at Dallas →
Similar profileTulane University of LouisianaMatched across several measures
Comparison with TCU
MeasureTCUTulane University of Louisiana
Peer earnings · 4 years$76,188$73,816-$2,372 vs TCU
Average annual net price$36,660$39,949+$3,289 vs TCU · higher cost
Admission rate44.5%14.0%
Explore Tulane University of Louisiana →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings