College · Private nonprofit · Houston, TX · City
Houston Christian University
Houston, TX
Hispanic-servingReligious affiliation
Admit rate84%
6-yr median pay$45k
Net price / yr$21k
Undergrad size2,886
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $21k/yr for a shot at a $45k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 84% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1084 · ACT 25.
If you get in
2,886 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $50k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $21k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$200k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$83k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$118k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $39.4k
- Room & board
- $12.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants56%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans59%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention69%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr49%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$45k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$56k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out35%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 2,886
- Location
- Houston, TX
- Region
- Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Also known as
- HCU
Identity
Hispanic-servingReligious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Hispanic39%
- Black24%
- White16%
- Unknown9%
- Asian5%
- International4%
- Two or more races3%
First-gen students36%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time23%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$39k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 47
What you can study.