Texas A&M reports a record 83,000 applications and says free tuition now covers 1,062 Texas students

Texas A&M University drew more than 83,000 applications this admissions cycle, the most in its history, and its fall enrollment reached an all-time high of 81,990 students across its locations, the university said in a report released Thursday.

The figures come from a university communications office report on cost and value. The incoming class numbered 12,645 as of the 20th day of classes, and completed freshman applications are up 24% over the last two years, according to the report. About 85% of A&M students are from Texas.

Tuition and free-tuition program

Undergraduate tuition and fees remain frozen at 2021 rates. The university estimates that students and families would be paying about $4,225 more over four years if those costs had risen with inflation.

For fall 2026, A&M widened its Free Tuition Program, formally called Aggie Assurance, which covers tuition and required fees. It is now open to incoming undergraduates from Texas whose annual family income and assets total less than $100,000. The university said 1,062 students now have their tuition and academic fees paid through the program.

Debt, graduation and earnings

The report lists several outcome measures, all as stated by the university:

• 63% of A&M graduates finish without student debt.
• About 23% of freshmen are the first in their families to attend college, up from last year's class.
• 95% of freshmen return for a second year, and two of every three students graduate in four years.
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data show median earnings of nearly $88,500 seven years after graduation, against a state midpoint of just over $71,000.

The university also said it plans to launch Aggie Passport, a system that will record students' leadership roles, service work and other activities outside the classroom as stackable microcredentials that employers can review alongside a transcript. The report did not give a launch date.

"The confidence placed in Texas A&M carries a responsibility," President Susan Ballabina said in the report.

The report cites rankings from The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse, which lists A&M as the top public university in Texas and No. 12 among U.S. public universities, and from U.S. News & World Report.

Sources

stories.tamu.edu