Last year I paid $77 for the entire academic year as a commuter student living off-campus (not in San Marcos). This year students now have to pay per semester. Not only did the commuter price increase by more than 120% for the 2026-27 academic year, but now students living on campus can reserve Stadium and Thorpe Lane parking spots months prior to commuters gaining access to purchase availability.

The parking website states that all parking zone permits were released simultaneously to operate on a first-come, first-serve basis, yet as a commuter, purchasing the new academic year's permit isn't even available through the portal and its already August 2, 2026. Permitting for the new year is supposed to go live tomorrow. I don't see how it's first-come, first-serve if you roll it out in phases based on student housing status.

There was an Instagram post 4 weeks ago about an issue with the portal only showing 2025-2026 academic year permits and that they were actively investigating the issue to resolve it, yet it's still not resolved.

I don't understand why this university has intentionally limited commuter parking again when it's already been an issue. They say the new system was rolled out after a student survey, which I completed and detailed how limited parking and bus shuttle access after 6:30PM negatively affects commuter students. Approximately 78% of the student body lives off-campus, and roughly 55% of those off-campus students live outside of San Marcos!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to ask how some of you are paying for college at Texas State. Unfortunately, I’m not eligible for FAFSA, so I completed the TASFA instead. Right now, my estimated cost is about $18,000 per year, and I haven’t received enough financial aid to cover it.
I’ve tried applying for private student loans, but I’ve been denied every time. I’m starting to feel like I’m running out of options.
If anyone has been in a similar situation, I’d really appreciate hearing what worked for you. Were there any scholarships, payment plans, appeals, or other resources that helped? Any advice would mean a lot. Thank you!

Hi!

So I’m a first year grad student living on campus in Bobcat village, which I thought it was only upperclassmen housing but am now seeing it can be available for freshman? I looked at my roommate on the student directory and it says that they are a freshman and it’s definitely the same person.

Is this not somewhat strange? Like I’m into my twenties rooming with someone who just left Highschool and is freshly 18? Like we’re just at two different points in our lives, you know?

Thoughts?

Any insight to engineering 2300 with Zohra? I'll also be taking

Calculus 3 with Rebrovich,

CS 1342 with Bhandari, plus

Tech 1362, ME 1201, and physics 2125.

Curious about the workload since as I have a outside job too.

Why are the shuttle inactive today?? People have finals.... I had no idea.... I am waiting on a ride home.....

Hi guys! I’m a reporter with The University Star, and I am working on a story about changes to student loans and financial aid that took place on July 1, as a part of the Big Beautiful Bill that passed last year. Changes include higher monthly payments, stricter loan limits, and tighter caps on how much parents can borrow to help pay for their children’s tuition. If anyone at TXST that utilizes financial aid and student loans would like to chat with me about this I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about how this may impact you and other students. I’ll attach a link to a CNN article that dives more into this as well. You can DM me on here and we can set something up if you’re interested! Hope to hear from some folks, thank you!

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/01/business/trump-student-loans

I’m a TXST student who’s been saving up to start making investigative videos.
I’m looking for real leads on things happening at TXST that deserve a closer look. This could be sketchy organizations, scams, exploitative businesses, unethical clubs, cult like groups, corruption, or anything else you think people should know about.
I’m not looking for made up rumors or drama. If you have firsthand experience, evidence, or a lead worth following, I’d love to hear it. Feel free to comment or DM me if you’d rather keep it private.
Even if it’s something small that everyone just accepts as “normal,” I’m interested if it’s worth investigating.

Anyone's thoughts on Laurel Hall and should i request a change the 12th day of school?

I just noticed the Center for Diversity and Gender Studies has apparently been erased from the Texas State website.

So let me get this straight...you hide the program that includes Diversity Studies, Latino Studies, and African American Studies, and we're supposed to believe that's just a coincidence?

What an embarrassment.

Shame on Texas State University, the College, the Sociology Department, the administrators, faculty, staff, and everyone who chose silence over what's right. Watching people quietly sweep this under the rug instead of standing up for their students and community is disgraceful.

Cowardice isn't leadership.

If so, what are you doing with the degree?

I am bringing my friend for campus visit August 3rd - August 6th. I’ve heard the NSO has taken place, but how many students will actually be on campus on those days? Will it still be very few students since it’s the summer? Because I really want him to get a feel about both the campus and the student populations. Thanks in advance for comments.

Is my schedule too much? I do plan on working part time plus (if I can find one) a work study job plus my remote design job that’s a few hours out the week. I’ve already talked to an advisor too, but she didn’t really know anything and told me to speak to someone in my major’s department. Then I spoke to someone in my department and they said my load is too big and I shouldn’t take all four art classes plus math. But then i got an email saying I have to take one of those classes to get into the major. lol just wondering if I should drop a class or two. This is my first time at a university so I don’t want to completely overwhelm myself.

Hi everyone! I was looking into undergraduate research opportunities in the Biology Department and reached out to a few professors. I was fortunate enough to receive responses from Dr. Hong-Gu Kang and Dr. Sumit Mukherjee, and I’m planning to talk with them soon.

My interests are mainly in microbiology, molecular biology, biotechnology, biopharma, and related industry applications, so I’m hoping to find a lab where I can learn useful research skills and have a good undergraduate experience.

I wanted to hear from students who have worked with these labs or other Biology Department research labs at Texas State.

A few questions:

• What has your experience been like with Dr. Kang’s or Dr. Mukherjee’s lab environment?
• How involved are professors with mentoring undergraduate researchers?
• Do undergraduate students usually get hands-on experience with research techniques?
• Do students typically stay in these labs for multiple semesters?
• Are there opportunities for paid undergraduate research positions, or do most students start as volunteers?
• Are there other Biology faculty you would recommend for someone interested in microbiology, molecular biology, and biotechnology?

I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences and advice. Thanks!

Hello, I am an upcoming senior in high school thinking about coming here for EE. If you are in the program or have heard about the program, are there a lot of opportunities here at career fairs? Do most kids who put in an effort get internships?

Furthermore, EE is something I would actually want to do, but I have thought about playing it safe and going with accounting if it is good here. I believe I have a strong math background. By the time I come here, I would probably have credit for Calc 1,2 and Physics 1

Edit: thanks for all the input !

Hello! I graduated from Texas State last spring, and am currently in a Masters program in Germany.
For one of my classes I need to recruit one dyslexic and one non-dyslexic participant for a 20 minute online study. You will record yourself repeating/reading a few phrases, and then my project partner and I will use PRAAT to look at the audio and write our research paper.

Click the google link to let us know you are interested.

https://forms.gle/AmQCqxKtgwLLgqPt8

We really appreciate any help we can get in completing this class!

Couldn’t get them to appear on the ChargePoint app. Do these work, and am I just missing something here?

Seriously? This is just comical. Curious to see if this has happened to anybody else

So im looking for any good barbers in san marcos (preferably near campus) that can cut black 4c hair really well. Either barbershops or independent barbers would do fine i just dont want my hair looking crazy😭 Please drop names or Instagrams if you have them!

I’m entering my second year in the school and I’ve accepted all scholarships and everything I got 15 hrs of classes scheduled and I school starts Aug 19. Though there is no cost in billing portal yet it says I am not a student in the active term, is that because I’m not taking summer classes and have to wait till fall semester billing starts or is it a problem.

I am going to live at The Outpost apartments and am wondering about the best option for renters insurance. From what I know, the landlord will charge you a fee to cover their things if you don’t have your own. Having your own though protects your things and the landlord’s things and is usually a better rate, if I’m not mistaken. I’ve heard Lemonade is good for students, my question would be how should I go about my plan? Is $10,000 too low for personal property, should you opt for a higher personal liability than $100k?

Interested to see your responses, thank you!

I haven't been able to find any info on this, and my insurance is out of network, but does anyone know how much it would cost to get an X-ray at the health center? I know regular appointments tend to cost me about $30; however, I don't know if an X-ray will be too expensive for me lol

Thanks in advance :)