I have a S who is a Junior and is on the bubble for auto acceptance at A&M (25.6% rank & 1330 New SAT…) He just retook the SAT and we are praying for 30 more points and he is working hard to jump up at least .6% in his class (that’s five students) ~X( As we are trying to prepare for every eventuality, I have questions about Blinn TEAM. My first, is financial. Do Blinn Team kids save money by not being full-time A&M students and getting their basics out of the way there? Or since they have to take classes at both A&M and Blinn, does it end up being more expensive than just being all Full-time A&M student after paying fees and books and tuition in two places? Cuz if it is cheaper, and he is still considered an Aggie, and he can still be in the Corps, this may be the way to go for this single mother with two kids in college and a little one in elementary! In fact, if that is the case, I wish they would give kids the option to select Blinn TEAM instead of being assigned it by the admissions committee… So, if you are a Blinn TEAM student or the parent of one, please feel free to share your experiences here.
Blinn Team is cheaper than full admission. It is not in the school’s best interest to give people that choice. This is a creative way they have come up with to eventually get more kids into the A&M system because there isn’t space for all of them as freshman, but as sophomores and juniors, there is.
Yes, I can see how TAMU would not want to give kids this option to all who wanted it as it would be $ out of their pockets. However, for those offered Blinn Team, the savings is indeed a great silver lining they may be overlooking in their disappointment on not being full admits. For some of us with limited resources, who want our kids to graduate with as little debt as possible, this is an option we would willingly take if it were available to all. Get the basics out of the way at Blinn for a fraction of the cost (while already considered an Aggie) then transfer to the main campus for the courses in your major. Sounds good to me!
Can anyone share just how much cheaper Blinn Team classes are than TAMU?
If Blinn Team is the same price as normal Blinn, then it is about 1/2 the cost. My son is a full time Blinn student this year.
Thanks @Debbie7452 ! That’s good to know. Makes being on Blinn Team more appealing if my S gets that offer.
If TUITION ONLY at Texas A&M is $9,000-ish, I don’t think that number would be totally cut in half, because I think that you would still have some A&M courses as well? Right? And the rest of the costs would be the same as A&M, housing, meal plan, sports pass, parking pass, etc.? Maybe a mom of an older Blinn Teamer will chime in and give us accurate info.
Don’t forget FEES. My D goes to another U and when we budgeted we totally underestimated how fees add up. Tuition may be 9K at TAMU, but I bet fees add a few more K’s. And would bet the fees at Blinn are lots lower than at TAMU. Just a guess. Can anyone confirm or clarify?
A blinn teamer will only take max 5 hours a semester at A&M. For a friend’s kid, someone told him to take one regualr 3 hr credit class and one 1 hr credit class. So, he had four total A&M hours last semester. It is called a “spare tire”. That way, if for whatever reason he needed to drop a class at A&M, he was still enrolled there. The other courses he took at Blinn.
Cost per semester hour at Blinn is based on
In-(Taxing) District Texas Resident - Students who have legal residence in Washington County, Texas.
In-Service Area Texas Resident – Students who have residence in Texas (as defined in the Blinn College residency rules) and reside
in the Blinn College Service Area.
Out-of-Service Area Texas Resident - Students who have residence in Texas (as defined in the Blinn College residency rules).
Out-of-State/Non-Resident/International Students - Students who reside outside the state of Texas or outside the United States.
High School Dual Credit Students - Students who are enrolled in dual credit [high school/college] courses.
https://www.blinn.edu/CatalogPDF/college-expenses.pdf
So, unless you live in Washington County or Blinn College Service Area, 12 semester hours for Texas residents will be around $1956. For our son last year, 13 hours at A&M for tuition only were 4,339.50. I do not know what the registration fees for Blinn are but for 13 hours at A&M they were 1,683.69. The second to lowest Meal Plan is the automatic freshmen are signed up for. It is $1,645.40 (which includes the $125.40 it is taxed)
Your on campus dorm cost is on top of that. As is your sports pass. 2016/2017 pass that gets you everything was $290. Then there is your parking permit. It is billed to you but you need to sign up for it as soon as the application to do so opens.
Wow! Actual, real numbers! Thank you so much, @Thelma2 , for sharing all of these details. It is super helpful and informative. If anyone knows how much Blinn fees are, please share? It seems to be the only portion missing.
Yes, I was referring to the Blinn portion and tuition/fees only not housing, etc…It was about 1/2 of an A&M semester. I’ve had 2 A&M students as well.
Familiarize yourself with the parking. Read the Q&A. Those getting late decisions will need to do their housing contracts soon so you can get your assignment as soon as possible.
My son lives in Mosher and we parked in the garage. Yes, you have to move your car up to a certain level by a certain time on game days. It was not a big deal unless you waited til the last minute. He would get a notification and would often do it earlier in the week.
http://transport.tamu.edu/parking/faqpermit/res.aspx#housing
Here is some more http://transport.tamu.edu/Parking/faqpermit/info.aspx
If you lose your parking pass, it is only $10 to replace. We have done it twice. Long story. Don’t ask. It hurts to much 8-} Parking passes can be used on any car, so they are not car specific in case he/she leaves with one car and has to go back with another. Like borrowing mom’s 10 year old mini van. Always a hit.
Watch for towing signs. They are everywhere. I mean, everywhere. Even where you don’t see them, they are lurking. Towing a car to the dealership for repairs is $75.00. Towing to the impound and getting it out within 30 minutes is $297.00.
Don’t buy the TrackR things for your keys. Dorm, car, etc. Expensive and they don’t work half the time with the app. Espeically if you have a car that has one of those expensive fobs that is expensive to replace when you lose it. TrackR work probably works on the good, old fashion cheap keys you can get remade at Ace. Go Figure. Try The Tile and let us know if it works for you. I am waiting…
And speaking of parking costs … be sure to check with your auto insurance provider before your student starts school in the fall. By changing the address my son’s vehicle is parked at (College Station vs. Houston), we saved approximately $500 per year. He had his car in North Side Garage freshman year ($483), and parks it free at U Centre this year, but does have a permit for certain lots on campus which allows him to park in Lot 43 for a class, and at the MedSci Library after 5 p.m. to study. @Thelma2, My son has the Tile – works great!
@lee6666 Great to know about the Tile! One year, my D lost her lanyard with her dorm keys and after a week or two of not finding them, had to have the room lock rekeyed and she and her roommate got new keys. At our expense. She found them the next time she did laundry. They were in the tub with her laundry paraphenailia.
Bump- for whoever asked about Blinn costs…
My daughter got Blinn Engineering Academy and her Cost of Attendance acc to the Offer letter is around 33k. She is out of State so her tuition for a year ( for 5 credit max in a semester x 2 ) at A&M would come to 5790 x2. Her total tuition estimate in the letter was around 16000. So I am assuming that the Blinn would come to around 5000 for a year for min 15 credits…since you will take a min 12 credits at blinn and tamu together each semester (with a cap of max 5 at tamu ). If you are Resident then the tuition at Tamu for 5 credits would come to around 2500 and 10 credits for the year will be 5000. And Resident (out of district) fees at Blinn for 15 credits would be around 2400. So i would assume that the in state tuition for a year will be around 8000.
My friends son who is Blinn Team right now, didn’t break it down for me, but her costs for Blinn were $1600 for 10 hours each semester. He took 4 hours each semester at A&M. He is in state.