Williams College is the first university in the U.S. to announce it will eliminate student loans completely! With tuition costs rising exponentially in universities across the nation, Williams has decided to provide financial aid entirely in the form of grants, which means students will not have to pay back the amount of financial aid the university has awarded them. Students and their families stand to benefit significantly:
“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. 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. The move will cost the college an estimated $6.75M annually, raising its total financial aid budget to $77.5M per year—one of the most generous per capita in the nation” (Williams College, 2022).
As college costs continue to rise, we hope we will see more universities following in William’s footsteps as doing so will go a long way in preventing students from graduating with tremendous student debt burdens. Stay tuned!
Source: Williams College. (2022, April 13). Williams College eliminates loans, moves to “all-grant” financial aid. Williams Today. https://today.williams.edu/announcements/williams-launches-nations-first-all-grant-financial-ad-program/
