8 Massachusetts Colleges Named In Lawsuit Claiming Financial Aid "Price-Fixing Conspiracy"

CBS Boston

October 10, 2024

BOSTON - Eight private colleges in Massachusetts are among 40 top universities named in a class action lawsuit over financial aid practices. The plaintiffs allege that the schools engaged in a "price-fixing conspiracy" that made tuition more expensive for students with divorced or separated parents.

The lawsuit claims that the nonprofit College Board has since 2006 pushed schools to consider the income and assets of noncustodial parents from a student's CSS Profile when determining a financial aid award. That's resulted in students from those family situations paying about $6,200 more for college on average, the lawsuit says, compared to schools that use the free application for federal student aid, known as FAFSA.

Brandeis University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern University, Tufts University, WPI, Boston College and Boston University are the Massachusetts schools named in the lawsuit. Other big-name institutions being sued include Stanford University, Yale University, Brown University, New York University, Dartmouth College and Georgetown University.

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