South Texas College is a public institution offering bachelor's degrees based in McAllen, Texas. It enrolls 15,856 students (a very large student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Open / Online), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Strong
75/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Open / Online
Outcomes34
Value99
Affordability74
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
South Texas College does not report an acceptance rate. Schools that do not publish one are usually open-admission, but confirm with the admissions office before you assume it.
Acceptance Rate
—
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $1,751 a year on average, it sits well below what public colleges charge nationally. At that level cost is rarely the reason to rule a college out. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$4,920
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$7,620
Room & Board (off-campus)
$8,638
Books & Supplies
$1,600
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$2,472
Total Cost of Attendance
$9,561
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$1,395
$30,001 – $48,000
$1,651
$48,001 – $75,000
$3,841
$75,001 – $110,000
$5,274
What this means:
39% of students receive Pell grants. Most cost is borne by families above Pell thresholds. Verify your individual aid offer before deciding.
Graduation Rate & Retention
27% of students who start here finish within six years, and 59% come back after first year. Most students who start here do not finish. That is the single most important number on this page. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
27%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
59%
Returning for their second year
What this means:
Lower than typical completion. Worth asking the school how they support students who fall behind.
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $36,788 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$36,788
Earning > $25K
60%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$30,300
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$44,200
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $13,900, about 31% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
What this means:
Strong return on investment. Every dollar of net annual cost is matched by ~$21.0 of median earnings 10 years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 15,856 students, a sprawling student community. Worth knowing: 61% are the first in their family to go to college, and 55% study part-time, so many are working alongside classes.
Total Enrolled
15,856
Part-Time
55%
First-Generation
61%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
Hispanic 94.9%15,054
White 2.2%352
Black 0.6%97
Asian 0.5%84
Other 0.3%44
International 0.1%17
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at South Texas College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
South Texas College offers
an extensive catalog of programs:
60 distinct programs across
27 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 22 students for every instructor here: on the higher side, so larger classes are common.
Student : Faculty
22:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$6,276
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$339,580
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$63,547
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
557 instructional faculty across 4 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Full Professors
67
12%
$71,390
Assistant Professors
2
0%
$70,517
Instructors
401
72%
$64,025
Lecturers
87
16%
$53,565
Pros & Cons of South Texas College
No college is right for everyone. Here is where South Texas College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Low completion rate, many students don't graduate within six years
First-year retention is below typical
Earnings outcomes are on the lower side
No graduate programs offered at this institution
Best for:
Based on the data, South Texas College is a fit for
families focused on keeping net cost low; working adults or students needing part-time study options.
Frequently Asked Questions about South Texas College
The questions families ask most about South Texas College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
How much does South Texas College cost?
Budget around $1,751 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is South Texas College worth it?
On the numbers, yes: strong return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $36,788 a year against a net price of $1,751, about 21.0 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is South Texas College known for?
Mostly Liberal Arts, Criminal Justice, Business Administration. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do South Texas College graduates earn?
About $36,788 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is South Texas College accredited?
Yes. South Texas College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
How many students attend South Texas College?
15,856 students. Large, so expect big lectures and more independence in finding your own footing. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at South Texas College?
27% finish within six years. That means most students do not finish in six years. Ask the school directly what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is South Texas College a public or private college?
It is Public. Public, so in-state students usually pay materially less than everyone else.
Where is South Texas College located?
South Texas College is located in McAllen, Texas.
What programs does South Texas College offer?
60 different programs, most commonly Liberal Arts, Criminal Justice, Business Administration. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at South Texas College?
22 students per instructor. On the high side, so expect big classes and to seek out contact time yourself. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in Texas
Other colleges in Texas share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.