W illiams uses the general guidelines of the College Scholarship Service to determine a student's financial need. Special circumstances such as large medical bills, younger children in private or parochial schools, and extended unemployment of a parent are also considered. 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.
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. I f the computed family contribution is less than the full cost of a year at Williams, the student is judged to have financial need, which is fully met by a combination of student loan, campus job, Wllliams scholarship, and state, federal and private grants. 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 unemployent of a parent.