Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX
Sam Houston State University is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, a town 10 to 35 miles from a city, with 17,743 undergraduates. Criminal justice is its signature field: 22% of its bachelor's degrees, about ten times its share across the colleges we cover. 55% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $54,211 ten years after starting.
Sam Houston State University admitted 16,956 of 18,093 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (93.7%).
- Acceptance rate
- 93.7%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $9,228
- $19,068 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $16,404
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 930–1120
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Sam Houston State University is known for
Measured by the 4,254 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Criminal justice
21.7%
of its bachelor's degrees: about ten times the 2.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Criminal Justice and Corrections88820.9% of degrees$51,748−7% vs $55,378 nationally
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods3037.1% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Psychology2636.2% of degrees$47,659−6% vs $50,706 nationally
- Business/Commerce2405.6% of degrees$63,837−7% vs $68,407 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies1984.7% of degrees$50,125−11% vs $56,359 nationally
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing1954.6% of degrees$91,697About the $88,910 national median
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Town, 10–35 miles from a city
Huntsville, TX
Undergraduates
17,743
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, high research activity
Living on campus
Under a quarter
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
19 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Sam Houston State University
Two things Sam Houston State University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
Sam Houston State University files test scores under “important”.
That is the school’s own placement on the grid it publishes every year. 92% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $16,404 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
93.7%
16,956 admitted of 18,093 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
930–1120
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
18–25
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
92%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
11%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at Sam Houston State University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Sam Houston State University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $9,228 ($19,068 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $25,505. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $16,404 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$9,228
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$19,068
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$25,505
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$16,404
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $25,505 full cost.
- Under $30k$12,474Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$13,389Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$15,540Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$21,366Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$24,101Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
55%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
73%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$54,211
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$21,983
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What Sam Houston State University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Essayconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rankconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Recommendations
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Rolling AdmissionAugust 1, 2027
Verified July 13, 2026 · Source
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Texas
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- University of the Incarnate Word93.4%
- University of St Thomas93.3%
- Tarleton State University94.2%
- Texas Lutheran University94.8%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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