A new motion filed Monday alleges that several top-tier universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, MIT, and Cornell University, operated as a “price-fixing cartel” that systematically favored wealthy applicants in the admissions process.
A group of former students initiated the lawsuit in 2022 and now demands $685 million in damages from the implicated institutions, according to The Hill. The lawsuit accuses these elite schools of considering the financial stature and donation capacity of certain applicants.
This alleged breach of ethical admissions practices stirred criticism, with plaintiffs pointing to specific instances of misconduct, The Hill reported. In one instance, documents cite a former Georgetown University president who supposedly secured admissions for 80 students primarily based on their families’ wealth or potential donations.
The universities deny these allegations, The Hill said. In a statement, MIT countered claims of favoritism linked to wealth and claimed that their admissions processes are rigorously independent, evidenced by millions of documents from an extensive discovery phase.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – JULY 08: A view of the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology on July 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“MIT has no history of wealth favoritism in its admissions; quite the opposite. After years of discovery in which millions of documents were produced that provide an overwhelming record of independence in our admissions process, plaintiffs could cite just a single instance in which the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants,” MIT said in a statement. (RELATED: Georgetown University To Offer ‘Gender-Inclusive’ Housing)
The University of Pennsylvania also finds itself under scrutiny after they were accused of boosting admission chances for students tagged as individuals of special interest, presumably linked to their familial connections or financial contributions, The Hill reported. Amid these claims, the defense attorneys have criticized the proposed $685 million in damages as being based on “junk science.”
The federal lawsuit was first filed in Illinois accusing prominent U.S. universities of colluding to fix prices and inflate the net cost of attendance for financial aid recipients through a shared, unfair method of determining awards. The universities face allegations that they “artificially inflated the net price of attendance for students receiving financial aid.”
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