UT Austin's free tuition program, the Texas Advance Commitment, covers tuition for Texas residents whose family adjusted gross income (AGI) is $100,000 or less and who have financial need, per UT Austin. Families with AGI between $100,000 and $125,000 get partial tuition support. There's nothing extra to apply for: admitted students with a complete FAFSA or TASFA file are considered automatically.
UT Austin Texas Advance Commitment at a glance
| Family AGI | What you get |
|---|---|
| Up to $100,000 (new from fall 2025) | Tuition covered |
| $100,000 to $125,000 | Tuition support (partial) |
| Over $125,000 | Not eligible for the program; other aid may still apply |
Who's eligible
Per UT Austin, you must:
- be a Texas resident;
- submit the FAFSA or TASFA and show demonstrated financial need;
- enroll full-time as a first-time-in-college or transfer student pursuing your first bachelor's degree;
- have a family AGI of $0 to $125,000.
Freshmen can receive it for up to four years (or the length of their program), transfer students up to three years. To renew, you need a 2.0 GPA and must complete 67% of courses attempted.
How the money works
For families at or below $100,000, tuition is covered first by federal and state grants -- the Pell Grant, FSEOG, and the TEXAS Grant. If those don't cover all of tuition, UT Austin fills the gap with its own grants or scholarships. You won't necessarily see a line called "Texas Advance Commitment"; you'll see the combination of aid that adds up to tuition.
The commitment applies to tuition only. Housing, meals, books, and fees are covered (if at all) by other grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans. UT notes students can receive outside scholarships beyond tuition, up to their financial need.
How it got to $100,000
UT Austin started the program in 2018. A UT System Board of Regents endowment expanded it in fall 2020, and in fall 2024 the Regents announced a further expansion that took the full-tuition line to $100,000 beginning fall 2025. The same Regents push funds similar programs at other UT campuses -- see UT System promise programs by campus.
What this means for you
- File the FAFSA or TASFA early and finish your aid file. No complete file, no Texas Advance Commitment.
- Know your AGI, not your gross income -- it's the line UT uses.
- Budget for housing and meals separately. At a flagship campus, they can exceed tuition.
- Getting in is the harder part. UT's automatic admission is limited to the top 5% of Texas high school classes for fall 2027 -- see Texas automatic admission and UT Austin's top feeder high schools. Compare with Texas A&M's Aggie Assurance.