TEXAS Grant 2026-27: $5,399 Max, Eligibility, TEOG

By Grantsights14 min readUpdated Oct 28, 202610 official sourcesHow we checkCorrections

Quick Answer: The TEXAS Grant (Toward EXcellence, Access, and Success) is Texas's main need-based grant at public universities, run by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) (opens in a new tab).

Full answer and how we checked it

For 2026-27 it pays up to $5,399 a semester, with a target of $2,500. There's no separate application: file the free FAFSA, or the TASFA if you can't file the FAFSA, by Texas's January 15, 2027 priority date. Schools give first-year grants first to students at or under a priority SAI of $6,478. You must start through one of four pathways, most often enrolling within 16 months of graduating from a Texas high school. Community college students get the TEOG instead, up to $2,134 a semester at community colleges.

This guide is for: Texas high school seniors, community college students planning to transfer, parents comparing aid offers from Texas public universities, and students who file the TASFA instead of the FAFSA.

Data note: Grantsights checked THECB's January 27, 2026 memo on TEXAS Grant and TEOG Fiscal Year 2027 grant amounts, the 2025-26 TEXAS Grant and TEOG program guidelines (as of March 18, 2025), 19 Texas Administrative Code sections 22.228, 22.229 and 22.230 (amended May 15, 2025), THECB's TASFA page, THECB's Report on Student Financial Aid in Texas Higher Education, Fiscal Year 2025 (published July 2026), and StudentAid.gov's 2027-28 state deadline list, all on October 28, 2026. THECB hadn't posted 2026-27 program guidelines as of that date, so rules not restated in the FY2027 memo come from the 2025-26 guidelines and current rules. Pell dollars are USAspending.gov FY2025 obligations (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025) for Assistance Listing 84.063, divided by Census Bureau July 1, 2025 population estimates.

Last updated: October 28, 2026, when amounts and rules were checked against THECB.

In this guide (10 sections)

TEXAS Grant and TEOG Amounts for 2026-27
Who Qualifies for a First-Year TEXAS Grant
Keeping the TEXAS Grant: Renewal Rules and Limits
TEOG: The Community College Version
How to Apply: FAFSA or TASFA, by January 15
TEXAS Grant Recipients and Dollars: THECB's FY2025 Data
What THECB's Website Doesn't Tell You About the TEXAS Grant
TEXAS Grant Scams and Red Flags
FAQ: Common TEXAS Grant Questions
Sources

Honest framing first: the TEXAS Grant is real money you don't repay, and Texas paid out $550 million of it in FY2025. But it's not an entitlement. Each university gets a fixed allocation, and when it runs out, eligible students go without. Filing early is the one thing you control. No company can get you a TEXAS Grant, and the forms are free.

The TEXAS Grant is confusing for three reasons: the "eligibility" rules and the "priority" rules are different lists, the amount is set by your school rather than the state, and community college students are in a different program with a different name. This guide separates them, with THECB's current numbers.

If you haven't filed yet, start with the FAFSA application guide. The federal award that comes with it is explained in the Pell Grant guide. Georgia students should read the Georgia HOPE Scholarship guide instead.

TEXAS Grant and TEOG Amounts for 2026-27

The 2026-27 TEXAS Grant maximum is $5,399 a semester, according to THECB's Fiscal Year 2027 grant amounts memo (opens in a new tab), dated January 27, 2026. The same memo sets the TEOG maximums for two-year colleges.

2026-27 (FY2027)	Semester maximum	Target amount	Where
TEXAS Grant	$5,399	$2,500 a semester	Public universities and health-related institutions
TEOG, public community colleges	$2,134	Not set	Community colleges
TEOG, public state colleges	$1,840	Not set	Public state colleges
TEOG, public technical institutes	$3,896	Not set	Public technical institutes

Source: THECB, TEXAS Grant and TEOG Fiscal Year 2027 Grant Amounts, January 27, 2026.

What changed from 2025-26

The TEXAS Grant maximum went down by $30. The 2025-26 TEXAS Grant program guidelines (opens in a new tab) list $5,429 a semester and up to $16,287 for the year, with the same $2,500 target. THECB kept the community college TEOG maximum at its FY2026 level of $2,134 because of irregularities in the data it uses to calculate it, the FY2027 memo says.

Figure	2025-26	2026-27	Change
TEXAS Grant semester maximum	$5,429	$5,399	-$30
TEXAS Grant target	$2,500	$2,500	None
Priority SAI	$6,514	$6,478	-$36
TEOG community college maximum	$2,134	$2,134	None

The 2025-26 guidelines let students receive up to three grants a year (fall, spring and summer). If that rule carries into 2026-27, Grantsights arithmetic puts the yearly ceiling at $16,197, but few students get the maximum: the FY2025 average was $5,405 for the whole year.

Your school sets the amount

THECB sets a ceiling, not an award. The guidelines say schools don't have to prorate and can choose any amount up to the semester maximum. One rule protects you: under 19 TAC 22.234, as the guidelines describe it, the school must cover any tuition and required fees the TEXAS Grant doesn't, using other non-loan aid from federal, state, school or outside sources. Under that rule, tuition and required fees should be covered by grant aid; housing, food and books are a separate question.

Who Qualifies for a First-Year TEXAS Grant

To get an initial-year TEXAS Grant, you must meet every basic rule and fit one of four pathways, according to 19 TAC 22.228 (opens in a new tab) and the THECB guidelines. The basic rules: be a Texas resident, have financial need, file the FAFSA (or the TASFA if you're not eligible for federal aid), meet Selective Service rules, enroll at least three-quarter time in a bachelor's program at a Texas public university or health-related institution, not hold a bachelor's degree, and not have a disqualifying conviction.

Pathway	Rule	Share of FY2025 first-year recipients
High school	Graduate from an accredited public or private Texas high school and enroll by the end of the 16th month after graduation, with no more than 30 college hours attempted (dual credit and exam credit don't count)	75.4%
Associate degree	Enroll by the end of the 12th month after earning an associate degree from a Texas public or private nonprofit college	16.6%
TEOG transfer	Received a first TEOG in fall 2014 or later, completed 24 or more credit hours with a 2.5 GPA, and never had a TEXAS Grant	8.1%
Military	Enlisted within 12 months of Texas high school graduation and enroll within 12 months of an honorable discharge	Under 0.01%

Pathway shares: THECB FY2025 financial aid report, Table 22.

Three details trip people up. Home-schooled students can't use the high school pathway, the guidelines say, because it requires graduation from an accredited Texas high school. A student who's more than 30 days behind on child support can't receive any state-funded grant under the Texas Family Code. And a felony or a controlled-substance conviction disqualifies you unless at least two years have passed since discharge or probation ended, or the record was pardoned or expunged.

Financial need and the priority SAI

There's no income limit. "Financial need" means your cost of attendance minus your Student Aid Index is above zero. What decides who gets money first is the priority list in 19 TAC 22.233 (opens in a new tab):

Renewal students come before first-year students.
Among first-year students, those at or below the priority SAI ($6,478 for 2026-27) come first.
Within that group, students who meet the Priority Model come first, lowest SAI first.
Then other students under the priority SAI, by greatest financial need.
For similar students, meeting the January 15 priority date breaks the tie.

THECB's FY2027 memo says the priority SAI "is not an eligibility requirement." Students above $6,478 can still get a grant if their school has money left after the priority groups.

The Priority Model: two of four areas

To meet the Priority Model, the 2025-26 guidelines say a student must meet at least one requirement in at least two of these four areas:

Area	Ways to meet it
Advanced academics	12 hours of college credit through dual credit or AP; the Recommended or Advanced High School Program or its equivalent; or the International Baccalaureate Program
College readiness	Meet Texas Success Initiative (TSI) thresholds or be exempt
Class standing	Graduate in the top third of your class, or with at least a 3.0 GPA
Advanced math	One math course beyond Algebra II, or one advanced career and technical course as set by the Texas Education Agency

A high school senior with a 3.0 GPA and Algebra II plus precalculus already meets two. That's why the priority rules matter more to most families than the eligibility rules.

Keeping the TEXAS Grant: Renewal Rules and Limits

Renewal students get first claim on each school's money, so keeping the grant is easier than winning it. The renewal rules in 19 TAC 22.229 (opens in a new tab) are:

When	Requirement
End of first year	Meet your school's Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy
End of second year and every year after	Complete at least 24 semester credit hours in the most recent academic year and keep a 2.5 cumulative GPA
Every year	File a new FAFSA or TASFA, still have financial need, enroll at least three-quarter time

THECB's guidelines say a course you fail doesn't count toward the 24 completed hours. Schools can grant hardship exceptions for a low GPA, low completion, enrollment between 6 and 8 hours, or extra time. But no hardship lets you get a TEXAS Grant while taking fewer than 6 hours.

Under 19 TAC 22.230 (opens in a new tab), eligibility ends at whichever comes first:

Limit	Started from high school or military	Started from an associate degree
Attempted hours	150 semester credit hours	150 semester credit hours
Time, degree of 4 years or less	5 years from first grant	3 years from first grant
Time, degree over 4 years	6 years from first grant	4 years from first grant
Degree	Bachelor's degree earned	Bachelor's degree earned

Attempted hours include repeated courses, dropped courses and withdrawals, plus transfer and dual credit hours your university accepts toward your degree.

TEOG: The Community College Version

The Texas Educational Opportunity Grant (TEOG) is the TEXAS Grant's two-year-college partner, and it reached 33,118 students in FY2025. The 2025-26 TEOG program guidelines (opens in a new tab) list the rules:

TEOG rule	Requirement
Where	Public community colleges, state colleges and technical institutes
First grant	Texas resident, financial need, at least half-time, in the first 45 attempted credit hours of an associate or certificate program (dual credit and exam credit don't count)
Renewal	SAP after year one; after year two, complete 75% of attempted hours and keep a 2.5 cumulative GPA
Limits	75 attempted hours, 75 paid hours, 4 years from the first grant, or an associate degree
Other	Can't receive a TEOG and a TEXAS Grant in the same term; a GED or high school equivalency holder can qualify

The TEOG transfer pathway into the TEXAS Grant is the link between the two: a TEOG recipient who completes 24 hours with a 2.5 GPA and transfers can start a TEXAS Grant. THECB's FY2025 report also describes a separate Texas Transfer Grant, launched in FY2024, that paid $19.2 million to 2,991 transfer students in FY2025, because TEXAS Grant money often runs out before transfer students show up.

How to Apply: FAFSA or TASFA, by January 15

There's no TEXAS Grant form. You file one of two free applications and list your Texas colleges.

The FAFSA at StudentAid.gov, if you're eligible for federal aid. It also decides your Pell Grant.
The TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid), if you're a Texas resident who can't file the FAFSA. THECB's TASFA page (opens in a new tab) says FAFSA filers shouldn't also file a TASFA, TASFA filers aren't considered for federal aid, and both 2026-27 and 2027-28 versions are available online and on paper (paper in English and Spanish). Online TASFAs reach your colleges within 24 hours; paper ones go to each college's aid office, never to THECB.

StudentAid.gov's 2027-28 deadline list (opens in a new tab) shows January 15, 2027 as Texas's priority date and notes private and two-year schools may differ. THECB says public universities must publicize and use January 15 as the state priority date, but it isn't a hard deadline: applying by then doesn't guarantee money, and applying later doesn't rule you out. THECB has moved the date before; it pushed the 2025-26 priority date to February 15, 2025, citing exigent circumstances related to federal aid development.

Texas also requires high school seniors to complete the FAFSA or TASFA, or formally opt out, to graduate, according to THECB's TASFA page. If you're not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, confirm with the college aid office which state aid, if any, the TASFA can open for you. The FAFSA deadlines by state guide compares Texas's date with other states'.

TEXAS Grant Recipients and Dollars: THECB's FY2025 Data

Texas paid $550,452,294 in TEXAS Grants to 101,837 students in FY2025, an average of $5,405 each, according to THECB's Report on Student Financial Aid in Texas Higher Education, Fiscal Year 2025 (opens in a new tab). The grant is highly targeted: 74% of the money went to students with a $0 SAI, and 95% to students at or under the report's Pell SAI threshold of $7,395.

Program, FY2025	Recipients	Dollars	Average	Students with $0 SAI (share of funding)
TEXAS Grant	101,837	$550,452,294	$5,405	74%
TEOG	33,118	$127,169,551	$3,840	80%
Texas Transfer Grant	2,991	$19,184,916	$6,414	76%

Source: THECB FY2025 report, Tables 15, 19 and 20.

Grantsights analysis of THECB's three-year recipient tables shows the TEXAS Grant adding 13,369 recipients (15.1%) and $59.6 million from FY2023 to FY2025:

Fiscal year	TEXAS Grant recipients	Dollars	Recipients with $0 SAI
FY2023	88,468	$490,802,785	44,750 (50.6%)
FY2024	95,615	$510,625,727	48,912 (51.2%)
FY2025	101,837	$550,452,294	77,464 (76.1%)

Source: THECB FY2025 report, Table 46.

The jump in $0-SAI recipients in FY2025 lines up with the first award year of the new FAFSA and its Student Aid Index, which can go as low as -1,500; THECB's report counts any SAI below zero as $0. THECB also reports an 87.1% one-year persistence rate (fall 2024 to fall 2025) and a 68.1% six-year graduation-or-persistence rate for TEXAS Grant recipients at public universities.

The biggest FY2025 allocations went to UT Rio Grande Valley ($54.7 million), UT Austin ($36.3 million), Texas A&M ($35.0 million) and UT San Antonio ($33.8 million), out of $529.8 million allocated. For example, a student admitted to UTRGV is at the university with the largest TEXAS Grant budget in the state, but each school still runs out at its own pace.

Pell in Texas

Federal aid is the bigger stream. According to USAspending.gov FY2025 data, Texas colleges received $3.62 billion in Pell obligations under Assistance Listing 84.063, about $114 per resident using Census Bureau July 1, 2025 estimates, the same as the national figure (USAspending.gov award search (opens in a new tab)). Grantsights analysis ranks Texas 2nd among the states in Pell dollars, after California. Federal Student Aid's Data Center counts 685,699 Pell recipients at Texas schools in 2025-26. The TEXAS Grant adds about $17 per Texas resident on top, in Grantsights analysis of THECB's FY2025 total.

What THECB's Website Doesn't Tell You About the TEXAS Grant

THECB's pages are written for aid offices. Read with its own data, 6 points matter to students.

1. The money runs out, and renewals come first. Each university gets a fixed allocation, and renewal students are paid before new ones. A first-year student who files in April is competing for what's left after every returning student and every on-time priority student.

2. Missing the 16-month window is a common mistake. A student who takes a gap year and a half, or starts at a private college and transfers, can lose the high school pathway. The associate degree and TEOG transfer pathways are the fallback, and they're why community college can be a TEXAS Grant route.

3. The priority SAI isn't a cutoff, but it works like one. THECB says so plainly, yet 95% of FY2025 TEXAS Grant dollars went to students at or under the Pell SAI cutoff. If your SAI is well above $6,478, plan as if you won't get one.

4. The 24-hour rule catches part-time students. After year two you need 24 completed hours a year. A student who takes 12 hours a semester and fails or drops one class falls short, and failed courses don't count as completed.

5. The maximum went down, and the target hasn't moved. The semester maximum fell from $5,429 to $5,399 for 2026-27, and the $2,500 target has stayed the same. Expect your award to depend on your school's tuition and budget, not the headline number.

6. TASFA filers get state aid only. The TASFA opens the TEXAS Grant and other state aid, but no Pell Grant or federal loans. If any part of your family can file the FAFSA, it's usually worth more.

Take one applicant in Texas, a Houston senior with an SAI of $0, a 3.2 GPA and precalculus, who files the FAFSA on January 10, 2027. She meets the priority SAI, the Priority Model (class standing and advanced math) and the priority date, so she's near the front of the line at any public university. A classmate with the same profile who files in May meets everything but the date, and at a school that runs short, that's enough to lose out.

TEXAS Grant Scams and Red Flags

TEXAS Grant scams charge for what's free. The FTC's scholarship and financial aid scams page (opens in a new tab) says the FAFSA is always free, only you and your family should fill it out, and you should never share your FSA ID with a company or consultant. The TASFA is free too, and THECB says to send it to colleges, not to the state. Red flags for Texas students:

A fee to "apply for the TEXAS Grant." There's no separate application. The FAFSA or TASFA is the application.
A promise of a guaranteed grant. THECB itself says the priority date doesn't guarantee funding, and the FTC says legitimate services never guarantee aid.
A request for your FSA ID or college portal login. No real helper needs it.

Free help comes from THECB's financial aid programs line at (844) 792-2640, the TASFA help line at (888) 311-8881, your high school counselor, and your college aid office.

Grantsights' free eligibility checker doesn't award TEXAS Grants or file applications. If you pick "Student" or "Individual > Personal financial help," it lists the official routes: StudentAid.gov, the USA.gov benefit finder, rental help, help with bills, food help, and the 211 line. For other Texas aid see the Texas education grants guide and the Texas grants guide; for federal and private aid, grants for students; and for what isn't real, how to apply for grants as an individual.

FAQ: Common TEXAS Grant Questions

How much is the TEXAS Grant for 2026-27?

Up to $5,399 a semester at public universities, with a $2,500 target. Your school sets the amount and must cover leftover tuition and required fees with other non-loan aid.

What SAI do you need for the TEXAS Grant?

None is required. The 2026-27 priority SAI is $6,478, which decides who's offered first-year grants first.

Who qualifies for the TEXAS Grant?

Texas residents with financial need, enrolled at least three-quarter time in a bachelor's program at a public university, who start within 16 months of Texas high school graduation, 12 months of an associate degree or honorable discharge, or after a TEOG with 24 hours and a 2.5 GPA.

How do you keep the TEXAS Grant?

Meet SAP after year one; after year two, complete 24 hours a year with a 2.5 GPA. Refile the FAFSA or TASFA each year.

What is the TEOG?

The community and technical college version: up to $2,134 a semester at community colleges, $1,840 at state colleges, and $3,896 at technical institutes in 2026-27.

When is the Texas FAFSA deadline for 2027-28?

January 15, 2027 for priority consideration. It isn't a hard deadline, but money can run out after it.

Do I have to pay back the TEXAS Grant?

No, though withdrawing mid-term can reduce it. Applying is free.

Sources

Last updated October 28, 2026. Published by Grantsights from public sources. See our editorial policy, how we build and check guides, corrections and how we make money.

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