Travel

Domestic Students:

Domestic students receiving financial aid are given a travel allowance for two round trips per academic year and are meant to cover travel to and from home at the beginning and end of each semester. If your Williams and federal grants are greater than the total direct costs, the difference will be available to be used towards your travel expenses; otherwise your travel should be financed through your parent contribution. 

If you’d like to, instead, book your travel to and from campus through the College’s travel software, Egencia (search your inbox for an email with instructions to activate your account) your travel will be charged to your student account. While some students will have sufficient financial aid to cover the cost of your travel with a grant, please note that this is still an expense on your student account and you will see that reflected on your next billing statement. If you find that your travel costs are greater than your travel budget, the college can reimburse you for the difference. You can request an adjustment to your travel budget using our Increase to Travel Allowance form.

Please note, when you first request the ticket, it must be approved.  Once it's approved, you'll get a follow up notification and email with the subject line ACTION REQUIRED. It's critical that you follow those steps to actually secure your travel plans.  We monitor this very carefully since time is of the essence. 

If you are seeking transportation options from the airport to campus, please be sure your flight matches up with the shuttle options available.

International Students and Domestic students living abroad:

International students and domestic students living abroad receiving financial aid are given one round trip (or two one ways) per academic year plus a vacation allowance of $225 per semester for winter and spring breaks.  Students must contact Bob Baker to book airfare and ground transportation.   Students can request a refund from Student Financial Services to withdraw the vacation allowance funds each semester around mid-terms. 

  • The Travel Grant will cover the cost of one round-trip or two one-way trips between your home country and Williams each academic year. 
  • To receive a grant for your travel expenses you must book your annual trip with our affiliated travel agent - Bob Baker at Global Link Travel. Exceptions will only be made in advance and, generally, only if the travel cannot be purchased via Global Link Travel. You may request reimbursement of ground transportation that you arrange independently up to $100 per trip.
  • Stopovers for greater than one day will not be approved for travel grant coverage. You are, however, welcome to pay for these additional travel cost(s) on your own.
  • You may book additional trips with our travel agent and charge the cost to your student account. You will be responsible for paying for these extra travel charges within 30 days.
  • Please note that you are not able to bank your travel grant from year-to-year. We are happy to work with you if you are experiencing unforeseen circumstances in the timing of your travel between home and Williams - please contact your SFS Advisor with any questions.

 

**Note** We no longer reimburse students for tickets purchased independently.