Williamstown, MA · Private · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for Williams College
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$36,963
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $7,700.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Williams College, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at Williams College
| Full price | $100,839 |
| After grants, at your income | $9,725 |
53% of first-year students here got a grant or scholarship from the college in 2023-24, $66,894 on average.
At this income, 2 of Massachusetts's other 51 colleges cost less after grants, and 49 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Williams College's promise. Williams College says it covers 100% of what a family cannot pay. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Williams College, our scenarios for Massachusetts households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $3,400 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →What Williams College commits to
Williams College says it covers 100% of what a family cannot pay.
“Williams makes college affordable so everyone here can thrive. Our financial aid packages consider the true cost of participation, not just attendance, and we meet 100% of demonstrated need with no loans and no work-study expectations.”
Williams College (Admission & Aid - Tuition & Aid) — verified 2026-07.
Published guarantees you may qualify for
We do not assume you qualify for any of these, and our plans never bank on them. Check each against your own situation with the aid office.
Free tuition for families earning $200K or less (with typical assets)
Household income up to $200,000. Covers tuition. Also requires “typical assets” — a test we cannot evaluate for you.
“We offer free tuition to students whose families earn $200K or less (with typical assets), and many of those families also receive financial aid well beyond the cost of tuition.”
All-Grant Financial Aid Program
“Through our All-Grant financial aid program, Williams eliminated loans and work-study requirements from our financial aid packages. Instead, the college offers grants that do not have to be repaid.”
No student loans packaged in any Williams aid award
“Williams students are not asked to take out loans as part of our financial aid program. You may choose to borrow as a financing option, but loans will never be included in your financial aid award from Williams.”
No campus or summer work requirement
“Williams doesn't require you to work on campus or during the summer as part of your financial aid. If you choose to work, campus opportunities are plentiful, but we want you to find the dynamic that works best for you.”
Book Grant
“Williams is famous for our Book Grant, which covers the full cost of all required textbooks and course materials for every aided student.”
Aid covers cost of participation beyond tuition
“The cost of college includes much more than tuition. That's why our financial aid also covers textbooks and course materials, art and lab supplies, travel costs to visit home twice per year and personal expenses like a data plan for your phone. Plus, Williams was the first college in the country to provide all financial aid as grants that don't need to be paid back—no loans and no work requirements.”
All-Grant Financial Aid Program - effective date and scope at launch
“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. The components will be replaced with equivalent grant funds, dollar for dollar.”
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what Williams College reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit. For a family that lives in Massachusetts, it also counts Massachusetts' tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan.
The $3,400 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in Williams College's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Massachusetts, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price Williams College at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Grants from the college
How many first-year students got a grant from Williams College, and the average, are the Department of Education's figures for full-time students who started in 2023-24. They cover every income. The prices after grants already count these grants, so don't take them off again. The Department of Education's page for Williams College →
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Williams College's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 4.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Williams College. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy$3,894 a year
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology$9,575 a year
- Williams College$9,725 a year
- Harvard University$10,587 a year
- Fitchburg State University$13,291 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Massachusetts college →