Financial Aid Antitrust Settlements Total $284M as Four Additional Universities Agree to Settle

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Four more universities—including Dartmouth, Rice, Northwestern and Vanderbilt—have agreed to settle a proposed class action lawsuit that alleged the schools illegally conspired to reduce financial aid, reducing competition and causing some students to overpay for their educations.

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Settlements from 10 out of the 17 university defendants are now worth a combined $284 million. Earlier this year, the University of Chicago, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Emory and Yale collectively agreed to pay a $118 million class action settlement to resolve the financial aid antitrust allegations.

According to court documents, Dartmouth and Rice have each agreed to pay $33.75 million, while Northwestern has agreed to pay $43.5 million and Vanderbilt to pay $55 million.

This latest batch of financial aid antitrust deals, as well as the earlier settlements, have received final approval from the court, and the time has come for eligible class members to file a claim for compensation.

The financial aid settlements cover any U.S. citizens or permanent residents who enrolled in at least one of the university defendants’ full-time undergraduate programs during certain time periods and received need-based financial aid that covered some but not all of the total cost of attendance—including tuition, fees, room and board—during any undergraduate year.

To find out the time period that applies to the settlement involving your alma mater, visit the official settlement website at FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com.

Class members have until December 17, 2024 to file a financial aid settlement claim form.

Head to this page to begin filing your claim form online. You’ll need to enter the notice ID and confirmation code found in the class action settlement notice you received via email or mail.

“Payments for claims will vary depending on a number of factors, including the net price of the university a claimant attended, the dates of attendance, and the number of claims filed,” the site says. “Assuming that about half of the estimated 200,000 class members submit timely claims, the average claimant will receive about $2,000 from these settlements.”

The University of Chicago has agreed to a $13.5 million settlement, while Emory and Yale have agreed to $18.5 million deals. Brown will pay a $19.5 million financial aid settlement, while Columbia and Duke will each pay $24 million.

The full list of universities involved in the financial aid antitrust litigation include Brown University, California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, William Marsh Rice University, Vanderbilt University and Yale University.

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