The New CalTex Pipeline
Yee Haw?
Texas Christian University sits in the heart of Texas surrounded by cowboy culture, the Fort Worth Stockyards and all things purple, but among the boots and barbecue, there’s one group on campus that doesn’t exactly fit the “Texas” stereotype. And no, it’s not the Horned Frogs.
California students now make up the second-largest student population at TCU, right behind Texas. In fact, so many students have made the move from the West Coast that people have started calling it “Texas California University.”
The numbers back it up. In fall 2025, out of 12,980 total students, 1,585 were from California. The next closest state, Illinois, had only 338, according to TCU Institutional Research.
So, what’s really behind this trend? Why are so many students trading palm trees for cowboy boots? Over the past few years, TCU has become a go-to choice for certain California cities and high schools even while students back home are fighting for spots in the California college system.
This project investigates what’s driving that shift. Is it TCU’s football fame and the “Rose Bowl theory?" The university’s personalized admissions approach? Or maybe something deeper about what California students are looking for a change of pace, new opportunities or a sense of community?
Through interviews with TCU admissions staff, California students and alumni who made the move, this story explores the growing California-to-TCU connection and what it says about how college choices and identities are changing.
Tourist viewing the famous California sight, the Golden Gate Bridge. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Tourist viewing the famous California sight, the Golden Gate Bridge. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
TCU Campus (Photo by Jeffrey McWhorter, April 22, 2025.)
TCU Campus (Photo by Jeffrey McWhorter, April 22, 2025.)
The Key Statistics
TCU has been growing as we see enrollment over the past five years has gone up 14.9%, according to TCU Institutional Research. You can notice the inflection of California students just by talking to students on campus, but the numbers aren't the only proof. In fall 2025, TCU had 22,680 students apply and, out of those, Texas had 10,757 applications and just behind was 3,100 applications from California.
"The snowball effect has really happened in California."
In the last four years from 2022 to 2025, applications, acceptance and enrollment have continued to grow not only for TCU in general but also in California. Over those years we see applications go from 2,818 all the way to 3,100 based on TCU Institutional Research. Enrollment also rose from 375 to 404 for first-year college students, which is still not comparable to the next closest state, Illinois, which had 97 enrolled for 2025.
To add to this, the Fort Worth Report reported that since 2018 out-of-state students make up 50% or more of the population at TCU, reversing what someone may assume about a private university in Texas. These statistics obviously show that besides Texas, California easily has the largest student population at TCU, but why?
One speculation is the difficulty of the University of California and California State University systems, also referred to as the UC and CSU systems. Even as UC schools are admitting more than ever, the numbers are still low given the size of a state like California. For example, College Vine reported campuses such as UCLA only accepting 9% of students and UC Berkeley only having a 13% acceptance rate. While UCLA and UC Berkeley are top choices for many, students have a better chance of getting in to lower-tier schools like UC San Diego or UC Riverside, leading students to apply out of state.
An example could be the University of Southern California, which had a record-high applicant pool for 2025. They had 83,488 first-year applicants and only offered admission to 9,300, which is 11.2%, according to their data. Out of the 11% accepted, only 3,759 enrolled. USC’s strong recruiting and popularity make it a top CSU school.
Another gateway is the California community college (CCC) route for in-state California students. In a 2022 study done by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that 33% of California graduates in 2022 went to a CCC while only 8% went straight into a UC and 12% into a USC. This also makes for the high number of transfers to UC and USC systems leading to uneven numbers and complexity, leaving students to once again consider other out-of-state options.
Screenshot from Public Policy Institute of California. (link)
Screenshot from Public Policy Institute of California. (link)
These stats show the volume of students applying to California colleges, leaving a competitive environment for high-achieving and top-of-class California high school students, still leaving room for some not to be accepted into a UC or USC campus. The correspondence with low California acceptance rates and rise in California students checks out possibly proving itself as a cause in higher numbers of California students attending TCU.
Insights from the Experts
While the statistics reveal the everchanging college landscape, they don’t capture the experiences behind those shifts. The experiences include students weighing choices, the counselors guiding them, and the administrator’s shaping admissions strategy. To bring these numbers to life, I spoke with admissions counselors at both the college and high-school levels, as well as TCU’s Vice Provost of Enrollment, Heath Einstein, to understand the things driving this surge in California students at TCU.
Amber Patterson has worked as TCU’s regional director of admission in Northern California since 2022. Carrying experience as a high school counselor with her into a college landscape. One of the first topics of discussion was her thoughts that the UC and CSU systems push kids to apply out of state, but she does think there is more to that when considering moving states.
Patterson said “I think politics can play a role in it as well. You know, California is a very polarized political place. You know, our leadership has been in one camp for a very long time, and I think that there's a lot of people also that want away from that and the cost of living and everything else that makes California difficult. So, I do think that there are a lot of people looking to leave California.”
Patterson said that the combination of students wanting to leave, great high schools, great educational system and how prepared students are coming out of these schools makes them attractive as prospective students and a good recruiting ground for TCU. She also mentioned that beside politics, the Dallas Fort Worth area makes for a good transition because it is a “melting pot” like California and has a huge job market and a lower cost of living.
Patterson said, “I think just the fact that we're in Texas, I think if you took TCU and put it somewhere else, it might not have that that draw. But that is certainly not the only thing.”
Another point made from Patterson was that so many students come from California being very engaged and involved in their high schools and community, as many students come from college preparatory schools. These factors align with TCU well as there is room to get as involved as you want in many different organizations and TCU’s small numbers contribute to the community aspect.
Patterson said it better than anyone: “I know a lot of people think of California and it is like, oh, fun beach, and you're gonna wear the cute outfits, and you're gonna have all the friends, and you're gonna live this kind of like Disney Channel, like image of California. Well, TCU has that same image as well, and both places live up to them, to be quite honest, in many ways, but I do think that ability to engage, and how happy our students are, and how welcoming they are of each other. I think a lot of those things exist in a lot of the California schools, or at least in the areas that we're pulling from in California.”
Obviously the question of cost also comes up because the price of living in California is one of the highest in the country and TCU tuition is higher because it is a private university, but a good point was made by Patterson as she talked about how we recruit from some of the wealthiest places to live in the nation like the Bay Area and Newport Beach, but that does not mean they are necessarily rich because cost of living in California is so high that a family who is realistically middle class in California wouldn’t get any need based scholarships because of where they live.
When asked to sum it up and find the biggest factor Patterson said, "I think in a lot of ways, it's a cultural match. I think that, like our on-campus culture and the way that students are engaged and involved and connected, I think that plays a huge role in it," which makes the difference for a student experiencing college for the first time.
Full video interview linked here.
Patterson’s point about cultural fit is reinforced by senior leadership, Heath Einstein, TCU’s vice provost for enrollment management and a California native, said that TCU’s environment mirrors much of what California students already know plus the added advantages of warm weather, easy travel, and a more even admissions landscape than UC schools.
Einstein also spoke to his own experience in applying to UC schools close to thirty years ago, very much like today’s landscape of admissions.
“I remember my high school counselor saying to me, if you go to a UC school, and those are great colleges, highly ranked universities, but if you go there, they're so crowded that you aren't guaranteed to get out in four years. It was one of the reasons why I chose, even though I got into some UC schools, to leave the state. I wanted to be done with college in four years and be working in year five, earning a salary, not paying college tuition. So, I think there's some of that. One is the difficulty of getting into the universities there, and two is getting out in four years.”
While the California College systems are obviously a driver for students Heath also says, “the snowball effect has really happened in California.” He says that we see one good family tell their friends and it continues to push good families from certain pockets of California here.
Not only the word of mouth but the effect of successful athletic teams also has an impact on enrollment. Einstein said, “I'm a huge fan of TCU because I love sports, and I want my team to do well, like any other fan, but then doubly so my job becomes much easier if our teams are doing well.”
In 2011 the Rose Bowl theory came to light as it is speculated that because of TCU’s appearance in that bowl game it led to more applications and exposure. Einstein said that there is no question that the Rose Bowl influenced the perception of TCU, not just because of the exposure, but the fanbase.
“We heard that for years afterwards, anecdotally, like, we didn't know anything about TCU. Then you came out to the Rose Bowl, and we met all of your fans, and everyone was so nice. People would comment, there was a noticeable difference between the TCU fan base and the fan bases of other universities that came to play in that game. I think that had a little bit of an effect, and if you saw the application growth between fall 2010 and 2011 because we played in the Rose Bowl in January 2011 you can see the difference right there. Applications overall went up, and the growth in our California population really boomed after that point.”
Einstein also believes, like Patterson, the perception that the political environment is different in Texas rather than California presenting an opportunity for California students to try a different political climate. Einstein also does say though that he believes TCU is a diverse community with every side of the spectrum, but some students come with the intention to have the freedom to be who they want to be.
Entering into college students have a list of interest and TCU meets many of the California high school students’ interest like “Campus culture, weather, school spirit, Greek life, D1 sports, fun, not too selective those are the top reasons.” said Associate Director of College Counseling at Carondelet High School, Ginger Jessop.
Jessop said, “I think students are drawn to the fact that it’s a school with the traditional college experience and they can actually get in unlike some comparable CA schools where the admit rates are in the single digits.”.
Jessop further affirmed Einstein and Patterson’s remarks about politics, values, athletics, and the overall snowball effect. Jessop says TCU’s admissions effort speaks for itself as a couple of students a year will attend TCU and word of their experiences makes its way back and creates interest in younger students.
Jessop summed it all up saying, “TCU offers California students the traditional college experience with warm weather while being accessible in terms of admissions selectivity.”
To understand these trends beyond admissions and policy, the next step is hearing from the people most affected by them: the California students and alumni who chose TCU. Their firsthand perspectives show how these motivations and patterns translate into real student experiences.
Californians gone Texas
"The biggest aspect of TCU culture that stood out to me was the pride of the university. I had never and to this day have never met someone who attends or attended TCU and didn't speak so highly of it."
Making the move to college can be daunting for an 18-year-old student, especially when it comes to moving away from home. TCU, with more than 12,000 undergraduate students, has a big-campus feel but a small, close-knit community. This often appeals to many students around the country, much like it appealed to Lauren Jones, a junior marketing and management double major at TCU.
Jones was born and raised in Newport Beach, California, and said she was ready for a change and a chance at independence when she came to college.
Lauren mentioned that TCU is popular in Newport, and 10 kids in her graduating class were attending TCU, and she also confirmed the idea of a snowball effect at TCU by saying, “One of my family friends attended TCU and just graduated, and she absolutely loved it. Me and her had very similar personalities, and I knew I had to look at the school.”
Jones said that TCU checked her boxes, which included easy to get to and from, amazing business school, Greek life, big sports and a city much like Fort Worth. She said that California schools never really appealed to her, even though she did apply to San Diego State University because her family attended, but she withdrew her application when she was accepted at TCU.
Lauren said that she never had an issue leaving California as she aligns so closely with TCU’s values and the way that the university promotes them.
Her hardest transition was the weather.
She said, “Weather was definitely a hard transition because I have never been in weather below 50 degrees before, so I was definitely not prepared.”
Jones even discussed with me that she knew her parents supported her decision to attend TCU because it fit her so well, showing that even Californians can have a home in Texas, as Jones also wants to stay here post-graduation.
Talking to California students, I also realized that each student made the comment that people were overall nicer in Texas rather than California. Jack Ritchie, a senior economics major from San Jose, California, said, “The biggest cultural difference I have noticed is people here in Fort Worth are generally nicer.”
Lauren Jones, posting for her headshot with Women's Business Network Executive Team. (Courtesy of Lauren Jones)
Lauren Jones, posting for her headshot with Women's Business Network Executive Team. (Courtesy of Lauren Jones)
Jones (far left), at a TCU game-day tailgate with her roommates. (Courtesy of Lauren Jones)
Jones (far left), at a TCU game-day tailgate with her roommates. (Courtesy of Lauren Jones)
Jones(left) and her best friend Ella that she made through Sigma Kappa at TCU. (Courtesy of Lauren Jones)
Jones(left) and her best friend Ella that she made through Sigma Kappa at TCU. (Courtesy of Lauren Jones)
Jack Ritchie (left) and TCU friend Matthew Sorci at a fraternity tailgate. (Courtesy of Jack Ritchie)
Jack Ritchie (left) and TCU friend Matthew Sorci at a fraternity tailgate. (Courtesy of Jack Ritchie)
San Jose is located in the "Bay Area" in terms of California. (Courtesy of Apple Maps)
San Jose is located in the "Bay Area" in terms of California. (Courtesy of Apple Maps)
Ritchie (center left) and friends from San Jose, California visiting him at TCU. (Courtesy of Jack Ritchie)
Ritchie (center left) and friends from San Jose, California visiting him at TCU. (Courtesy of Jack Ritchie)
Ritchie, along with that, discussed that he had “zero interest” in California schools as they had become far too competitive, and as a lifelong USC fan he could not allow himself to apply to a UC school like UCLA. He applied to Long Beach State, Cal Poly, San Jose State and San Diego State, but when he was accepted to TCU, he, like Jones, withdrew his applications as he really wanted to attend TCU.
When asked what influenced his decision, he said, “I first looked into TCU when my sister recommended I check it out after she heard great things about it from her friends. I wanted to find a school that had a lot of school spirit and is big in sports, but also did not have a large campus and student population while keeping class size somewhat small.”
Ritchie said that he was lucky that his family is in a financial state to afford his tuition, and while he understands it is so expensive, it is set apart from California universities.
He said, “The small class sizes at this school make it stand out from the large CA schools, and it’s what drew me to this school. I have many friends that go to great schools back in California, but a lot of their class sizes are massive with 200–300 plus people, and they are not able to know their professor. But at a school like TCU, I have been able to get to know my professors super well, and they all make an effort to get to know each student, which is something I truly think sets this school apart.”
While the transition was weird for Ritchie and being away from home was different, he said he felt the California presence on campus and having that connection made it much easier. This also allowed him to have new friends when he would visit home for break.
Alumni Talk
On the topic of friends, a TCU alumnus from the Class of 2023, Jack Schreiber, said his biggest adjustment wasn’t making friends because TCU made that easy, but it was the weather as well. Schreiber was from Sacramento, California, and grew up there most of his life, but come college he was ready to leave.
He acts as another example of the snowball effect as he told me that he heard about TCU from a friend’s cousin who was on the equestrian team, and he decided to visit a lacrosse friend his junior year of high school and was sold. He had been looking to attend a school in Texas because he loved the people, culture and values surrounding Texas, but what set TCU apart from other universities was big sports, good majors, southern values and the small-school feeling.
He said, “I believe so many California students are choosing TCU because they want to be surrounded by kind folk and sunny weather.”
He added to that with, “The biggest reason I think Californians are choosing TCU over other Texas schools in particular is the publicity and attention we have gotten in the past couple years due to the school’s success in sports and ranking on happiest places and strongest academic universities to attend.”
A unique perspective from Schreiber is the fact that his family moved to Texas from California while he was in college. He said that once his family came to visit a couple times they were convinced to move to Texas after already being on the fence about moving away from California. Even though they were not sure of the color purple at first, they came around to not only love the Horned Frogs but also the state of Texas.
Schreiber said, “My family could not have been happier” about their move to Texas. This family is not the only one, as you can find students all around campus whose families make the move after their student attends TCU.
It isn’t just TCU that is attractive but Texas in general, with lower cost of living, smaller homelessness population, warm weather and a Texas sunset.
Cowboys & Coastlines
TravelTex
Texas appeal
Texas is known for its Cowboy culture, BBQ, southern hospitality and diverse landscapes as represented by the travel Texas website. Living is a different story and one pro that Texas leverages is its low cost of living. A blog post said that on Zillow the median cost of housing Texas was $350,000, whereas California's median cost was more than half coming in at $800,000.
Visit California
California appeal
California has everything from mountains, to oceans and the occasional ski season outing. California's diverse culture leads to so many different pockets of culture within the state. The beautiful weather also usually tends to lead people to an outdoors lifestyle. While living is expensive California leverages that by saying they have one of the best job markets (as well as Texas).
Choosing TCU
TCU appeal
TCU combines the good parts of both places and nearly combines them seamlessly (besides the missing ocean). TCU takes a similar close-knit culture that is in California communities and implements that in a Texas school. Students also feel that living in Texas post graduation financially is a good start, as the job market is healthy and living cost are low.
The Pipeline
In all of this, we could conclude that the rise of California students at TCU is a ripple effect of many things.
They are choosing things that they value in California like warm weather, high-achieving culture and school community, along with things that are vital to TCU like classroom support, school-spirit and Southern hospitality.
As more students come and go through TCU from California, the snowball effect will continue to occur, only attracting more students this way. TCU has become a safe haven and a home away from home for most of these California students and, not to mention, some of their parents as well.
The California-to-Texas and TCU pipeline is more than a trend. It’s a reflection of shifting priorities among students today: wanting connection, opportunity, balance and a college experience that feels both meaningful and manageable. For thousands of California students, TCU has become that place and all signs suggest the movement is only just getting started.
