Williams College acceptance rate, SAT range and net price

One binding round in Williamstown

Williams runs a single early plan, binding Early Decision due November 15, with decisions by December 14. There is no Early Action and no second ED date. The Common Data Set shows why the choice of round matters here: 964 students applied early for fall 2025 and 256 were admitted, about one in four, while the rest of the pool saw roughly one offer for every thirteen applications. Part of that gap reflects who applies early rather than a lower bar, but the arithmetic is plain: those 256 early offers covered close to half of the 567 seats in the class before a single regular application was decided.

The waiting list is a thin backup. Williams offered 2,193 students a place on it, 850 accepted, and 25 were eventually admitted.

Williams: where your SAT score lands

Your SAT total

Enrolled students scoring below you (approx.)

50%

Middle 50%	1,490 to 1,550
Your score is	inside the middle 50%

Fall 2025 entering class (Class of 2029), CDS 2025-2026, C9 (242 SAT submitters, 104 ACT submitters; means: SAT 1510, ACT 34). Normal curve fitted to the two published percentiles.

Odds and net price at other universities →

A score range drawn from fewer than half the class

Williams leaves the testing decision entirely to the applicant, who can switch between sending and withholding scores until the deadline of the round. Only 43% of the entering class sent an SAT and 18% an ACT, so the range of 1,490 to 1,550 describes a minority of students on campus, and the ones whose scores helped them. A result below 1,490 does not close the door; it simply adds little to an application in a group whose median sits at 1,520. With roughly 12 applicants per offer, the label stays a reach for everyone, including students at the top of the scale.

Free tuition up to $200K, books included

The 2026-27 fee of $95,960 splits into tuition of $76,300, housing and meals of $19,320 and $340 of activities and residential house fees; a semester away adds a study away fee. Families earning $200K or less with typical assets pay no tuition, and many receive aid well beyond it. Aid packages carry no loans and no work-study expectation, and Williams pays for books for every aided student whatever the size of the grant. The federal averages show the effect: $0 for families between $30,001 and $48,000 and $0 between $48,001 and $75,000 in 2023-24. Above $110,000 the average was $49,594, a band that runs from families just past the tuition line to very high incomes.

Williams: net price for your family income

Family income per year

$

Average net price, 2023-24

$0

Income band	$48,001-$75,000
Share of the 2023-24 cost	0%
Grants above the cost, on average	$1,978

Federal figure for first-year students on federal aid.

Compare with other universities →

Williams next to its New England rivals

With about 2,076 undergraduates, Williams competes for the same students as Amherst, Bowdoin and Wellesley, all test-optional and all priced close to Williams before aid. The differences sit in the early rounds and the aid rules, which the comparison tool lines up side by side.