Antitrust Lawsuit Investigation: Did Your College Fix the Amount of Your Financial Aid?

Last Updated on October 1, 2024

Investigation Complete

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have finished their investigation into this matter.

Check back for any potential updates. The information on this page is for reference only.

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Case Update

October 1, 2024 – Financial Aid Antitrust Lawsuit Settles for $284M; Settlement Website Is Live
Settlements totaling $284 million have been reached to resolve a class action lawsuit over allegations that the elite universities listed on this page illegally conspired to limit the amount of financial aid students received. The official financial aid antitrust settlement website can be found at FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com.

To learn more about the deals, including who is covered by the settlements, how to file a claim and when you may expect to receive a financial aid settlement payout, head to this page.

Check our list of rebates and settlements to see if you’re covered by an open class action settlement.

At A Glance

This Alert Affects:
Anyone who attended one of the colleges listed below since 2004 and received partial financial aid.
What’s Going On?
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether certain universities illegally conspired to reduce the amount of financial aid awarded to students and, if so, whether class action lawsuits could be filed as a result.
Which Schools Are Under Investigation?
Brown University, California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Vanderbilt University and Yale University.
What’s the Catch?
There is none. Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have reason to suspect some colleges may have illegally worked together to reduce the amount of aid offered to students and are looking to determine whether any legal recourse is available to current and former attendees.

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether a handful of universities illegally conspired to reduce the amount of financial aid awarded to students.

As part of their investigation, the attorneys would like to hear from anyone who attended any of the colleges listed below since 2004 and received partial financial aid:

  • Brown University
  • California Institute of Technology
  • University of Chicago
  • Columbia University
  • Cornell University
  • Dartmouth College
  • Duke University
  • Emory University
  • Georgetown University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Northwestern University
  • Notre Dame
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Rice University
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Yale University


Price-Fixing Schemes and Why They’re Harmful

Price fixing – in this case, fixing the amount of financial aid awarded to students – eliminates competition.

Should a group of colleges agree to use the same guidelines for awarding financial aid, each prospective student will receive an offer for the same amount of money from each college he or she is accepted into.

This means schools are no longer competing via financial aid for students to attend their institutions.

Furthermore, the amount of financial aid that is available to those in need will be lower than it would have been absent a price-fixing scheme.

How a Class Action Lawsuit Could Help

If filed, class action lawsuits could provide current students and alumni the chance to recover the difference between what they received in financial aid and what they would have received absent any illegal price-fixing agreement. A successful case could also force any universities found to be in violation of antitrust laws to change the way they award financial aid.

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