Williams is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need of all admitted students for every year in which they qualify. Neither applying for financial aid nor need for financial assistance will impact a student’s chances for admission.Williams College makes every effort to treat comparable family situations alike. In accordance with sound practices of professional judgment, we attempt to accurately and fairly assess a family’s financial strength and its ability to contribute to educational costs.
Williams uses Institutional Methodology to determine a student’s financial need. Like most colleges and universities, Williams believes that parents have a primary obligation in helping to meet the costs of undergraduate education and that the College’s financial resources should be used to assist students whose families clearly cannot meet these costs. Therefore, Williams normally does not acknowledge a student’s financial independence. Both parents, whatever their marital or legal status, are expected to help with college costs according to their financial ability. Some students who do not initially qualify for aid may become eligible in subsequent years because of changed family circumstances, such as younger siblings entering college or the extended unemployment of a parent.