Cornell, Georgetown, UPenn must face lawsuit over financial aid
A judge ruled that Cornell, Georgetown, and UPenn must face a lawsuit alleging they conspired to limit financial aid and favored wealthy applicants.Summary
A federal judge has ruled that Cornell University, Georgetown University, and the University of Pennsylvania must proceed to trial in a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to suppress competition in financial aid and prioritizing wealthy student applicants. Judge Matthew Kennelly rejected the universities’ attempts to dismiss the case, finding sufficient evidence to support the plaintiffs’ claims. The lawsuit alleges that these institutions, along with 17 others, violated antitrust laws over two decades by breaching a pledge to disregard students’ financial situations during admissions. While over a dozen universities, including Brown, Yale, and Columbia, have settled for nearly $320 million, these three universities will continue to defend themselves. The plaintiffs argue the schools benefited at the expense of students, aiming to “avoid bidding wars” over enrollment, and seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The universities maintain their innocence, denying any conspiracy to inflate enrollment costs.
(Source：Reuters)