WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College on Wednesday announced that starting with the fall 2022 semester, the college will become the first in the country to totally eliminate loans, as well as required campus and summer jobs from all of its financial aid packages.

 

Those components will be replaced with equivalent grant funds, dollar for dollar, the college said in a news release.

 

Taken together, the changes greatly simplify the financial aid process for families, who have traditionally had to manage a complex portfolio of grants, loans and student work requirements, the college said.

 

As part of the same initiative, in 2021, Williams also revised its financial aid methodology in ways that reduced the cost to many middle- and low-income families. One in six Williams families saw their parent contribution decrease by $4,500 last year as a result.

 

The college's latest move to an all-grant program immediately benefits the more than 1,100 of Williams' 2,121 total undergraduates (almost 53 percent) who receive financial aid from the school. According to the college's website, the cost of tuition, room and board at the school next year will be $76,980.

 

Middle-income families will receive approximately $35,000 in additional grant aid over four years, while the college's lowest-income families, whose aid packages already excluded loans, will receive almost $16,000 in additional grants, Wednesday's news release said. The move will cost the college an estimated $6.75M annually, raising its total financial aid budget to $77.5 million per year — one of the most generous per capita in the nation.

 

"Williams' leadership in liberal arts excellence and affordability drew me here and inspires me every day," Williams President Maud S. Mandel said. "The school's dual commitments to academic excellence and affordability are a model for ensuring access to an outstanding education. That's why our financial aid packages go so far beyond the cost of attendance, to look at the true cost of participation: all of our financial aid awards include free textbooks and course materials, health insurance, summer storage, funding for travel courses and internships and more.

 

"At a school graced with intellectually curious students, a superb program and generous alumni, the all-grant initiative combines these historic strengths in a way that equips our students to get the most out of their education."

 

Williams' dean of admissions talked about the college's history of efforts to make the school affordable to a wider array of students.

 

"Williams has long been a leader in college access and affordability," said Liz Creighton, a 2001 graduate. "In 1920, the college started its free textbook program. In the 1960s, we were among the first schools to admit students on a need-blind basis and then meet their full demonstrated need. Later we helped lead the national shift to a 'need-seeking' approach, by actively recruiting and enrolling talented students from less-resourced backgrounds. More recently we've expanded our financial aid packages to address the hidden and sometimes not-so-hidden costs that prevent students from taking full advantage of all the opportunities available. The all-grant initiative is a major new step on our path toward true affordability. It's all part of ensuring that the exceptional students we admit can focus on what they'll learn — not what they and their families earn."

 

Williams junior Eunice Kim said the new policy will help students like her.

 

"It's great to hear that Williams is moving to all-grant," said Kim, who has worked as a language lab monitor, admissions office ambassador, research assistant, teaching assistant and grader during her three years on campus. "When I first got here I was eager to get into my studies, but needed to find a job to earn money. Now students like me will be able to dedicate those gained hours to classes, extracurriculars, friends … maybe even a little more sleep."