Top universities agree to settle financial aid suit for $104.5 million

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Top universities agree to settle financial aid suit for $104.5 million

Five universities agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing them of colluding on financial aid and admissions violations, according to new court filings.

Yale, Columbia, Duke, Brown and Emory universities will pay a combined $104.5 million to settle their portions of the case, which was brought by five former students against more than a dozen schools.

The suit alleges the universities violated antitrust law when they ignored their pledge to not weigh a student’s ability to pay tuition when considering whether or not to accept, a practice referred to as “need-blind” admission.

“It is past time for the presidents and governing bodies of the remaining defendants to stand up and do the right thing for their students and alumni, and resolve the overcharges to middle class and working class students that stemmed from the twenty years of collusion on financial aid by elite universities,” Robert D. Gilbert, one of the lead attorneys representing the students, said in a statement.

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