Northwestern Named In Lawsuit Alleging 'Early Admission Conspiracy'

EVANSTON, IL — Northwestern University was named among many other elite colleges and universities in a lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to inflate tuition costs through the early decision process.

According to the complaint, 32 colleges openly participated in practices that entrench patterns of inequality of access while inflating tuition costs. The lawsuit aims to challenge "a horizontal agreement to reduce or eliminate competition through use of the early decision process.”

"Students are strongly incentivized to participate in Early Decision, even if they might otherwise prefer to see what other colleges and universities would admit them and compare costs of attendance among schools to which they have been offered admission," the lawsuit states.

As part of the early decision admission process, students who apply early in the admissions cycle also receive an admission decision before the usual notification date. If the student accepts the decision, they enroll and accept any financial aid offer, withdrawing any applications sent to other schools.

Early decision agreements are not legally binding, but are typically seen as firm commitments. The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts last week by four students, alleges this process violates antitrust laws.

The complaint seeks to prohibit the early decision process and asks for an unspecified amount of financial damages.

This new lawsuit adds to ongoing financial issues Northwestern University is facing including rising costs related to compliance requirements, health care expenses, litigation, labor contracts, employee benefits.

See related: 400+ Jobs Cut At Northwestern University Amid Budget Crisis

Alongside Northwestern University, the complaint also named:

• Amherst College
• Barnard College
• Bowdoin College
• Brown University,
• Bryn Mawr College
• Carleton College
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Emory University
• Haverford College
• Johns Hopkins University
• Macalester College
• Middlebury College
• Mount Holyoke College
• Oberlin College
• Pomona College
• Rice University
• Smith College
• Swarthmore College
• Trinity College
• University of Chicago
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Rochester
• Vanderbilt University
• Vassar College
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Wellesley College
• Wesleyan University
• Williams College

The complaint also named the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, the Common Application and Scoir Inc. as defendants.