<p>Does anyone have knowledge of institutional aid calculations at Williams?</p>
<p>When I plug exactly the same numbers into the finaid calculators for Williams and for Amherst, Williams gives me a much higher figure for the EFC. I mean, a full third higher. I'm not even thinking about the no-loans vs. loan cap issue, this is just EFC.</p>
<p>It was a cold awakening though as far as my son's interest in Williams. I think I'll have to direct his attention elsewhere. Our net income last year was less than $42,000, but the Williams calculator sets our EFC over $12,000. I'm not sure how the rest of the family is supposed to live on $30,000 a year.</p>
<p>I know it's because our 1000 sq. ft., 60 year old house has appreciated because the local real estate values shot up over the last 10 years. Still it's the only house we have, can't afford to move anywhere else, and don't have enough money to pay a loan taken out against it.</p>
<p>Oh well. I read somewhere that some colleges cap your home assets at 2.4 times your income just for situations like ours, but evidently Williams isn't one of them.</p>
<p>Anyway, if anyone knows more than I know about this, or if there is any hope for people in our situation, I'd love to hear about it.</p>
<p>SoOreMom: You could give the Williams FinAid office a call and ask to speak with either the director (Paul Boyer) or the associate director (Betsy Hobson) -- their phone numbers are on the website. They would be able to accurately answer your questions, and are most likely (like the majority of staff and faculty at Williams) more than willing to help in whatever way they can.</p>
<p>I know, from personal experience, that the parental contribution amount seems daunting -- and am looking forward to the year when loans we've taken out to meet that amount will be paid. Our Eph's finaid award from Williams, though, WAS more generous than those from other institutions (including other COFHE members).</p>
<p>Williams financial aid is greatly overrated; they're giving me quite a bit less than Amherst or Midd would have. When we first received my award and saw how paltry it was, we contacted the financial aid office asking for reconsideration and they offered an extra $1000/yr, which came nowhere near equalizing the awards and ended up disappearing after my freshman year.</p>
<p>Williams is a great school, and I'm glad I'm here, but it's not cheap. My parents are having to sacrifice a lot to keep me here.</p>
<p>Jeke, did you apply ED, and then were stuck with the finaid package, or did you decide just to take it on even though it was bad because you felt strongly about Williams? I'm sorry it's been such a big burden on your parents, but I bet they're very proud of you.</p>
<p>I applied RD, and chose Williams because my parents told me they wanted me to go where I wanted to be, regardless of money. It's costing about $8k/yr more than Amherst or Midd, and neither of those would have been very easy for my family either. I'm really happy to be here, and I'm thankful that my parents are willing to pay for it (and I hope to pay them back some day), but I just wanted to dispel the (apparently popular) misconception that Williams financial aid is always better than competing schools, or that they'll bend over backwards to make things easy for you.</p>
<p>Thanks, I appreciate hearing different perspectives. I have heard from one other person --not on this board-- that her Williams aid package was less generous than some other similarly selective schools. She preferred Williams but didn't end up going there because it was just unaffordable for her. So, it's not just you. It's funny though how inconsistent it seems to be. Have you talked to other finaid students there about this? Or do you have more fun things to do??? ;-)</p>
<p>Lots of kids have really good deals, but I don't really know how well their offers stacked up against other schools. Williams does have the <em>reputation</em> for really good financial aid, so I would assume that some people are better off here. My family's income is substantially higher than yours - williams EFC of $40k vs. ~$32-$33k for other schools (on a ~$70k income but with decent savings), so that might have led Financial Aid to be less flexible with us then they might be in your case. </p>
<p>It's worth realizing that the web-based calculator isn't a guaranteed offer, from Williams or the other schools, so if your son really wants to come here it's probably at least worth an application. If he doesn't get in, problem solved, and if he does, then you can look over the <em>official</em> offer and, if it's not good enough, hopefully call to the financial aid office to see what they can do.</p>
<p>Three years ago, when we were considering offers from 100%-of-need schools (all COFHEs), the Williams offer was right in the middle of the pack. Not the best, not the worst. All using the same methodology supposedly, and with a very simple application (no outside businesses, second houses, or investment income), the range from lowest to highest varied by $47k over four years, with loan amounts from $0 to $19k.</p>
<p>My d is at Williams. Because of our need for fin aid, she applied RD to schools. ED, because of the commitment, was not a risk we were willing to take.
She applied to Williams, other LACs, and a couple of universities. When doing the fin aid forms, use the Note space at the end of the form to explain any unusual fin situation/difficulties, don't whine, just clearly explain. They will read the Notes and contact you if there are questions. Remember, each family's idea of what is "fair" may vary. The calculators are estimates and cannot take into consideration everything.
My d received a range of aid from schools. (But, applying RD gives you the opportunity to contact the schools and discuss why there are differences. This is perfectly acceptable thing to do.)
Williams gave her THE BEST fin aid package, though a couple of other schools were close. The lowest one was about $10,000 less than Williams, but because she really wanted Williams, we did not contact any other school.
Williams fin aid, from our position, is very generous.
If fin aid is a concern, then don't apply ED. It is stressful to apply to several schools and then wait, but it may be your child's best alternative.</p>