New allegations filed Monday allege that several top 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. claims to have done so.
A group of former students filed the lawsuit in 2022 and are now seeking $685 million in damages from the institutions involved. According to To The Hill. The lawsuit accuses these elite schools of taking into account the financial status and gift-giving ability of certain applicants.
This alleged violation of ethical admissions practices sparked criticism, with plaintiffs pointing to specific instances of misconduct, The Hill reported. In one example, a former president of Georgetown University is cited in the documents as allegedly securing admission for 80 students based primarily on family wealth and potential donations.
According to The Hill, the university denies the allegations. In a statement, MIT refuted claims of wealth-related favoritism and said its admissions processes are strictly independent, as evidenced by millions of documents from extensive discovery stages. he claimed.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – JULY 8: A view of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus on July 8, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“MIT has no history of favoring the wealthy in admissions. Quite the contrary. After years of discovering millions of documents that provide an overwhelming record of independence in admissions, “Plaintiffs can cite only one instance in which a board member’s recommendation helped sway the decisions of two undergraduate applicants,” MIT said. In a statement. (Related: Georgetown University to offer ‘gender-inclusive’ housing)
The University of Pennsylvania is also under intense scrutiny after being accused of boosting admissions chances for students tagged as persons of special interest thought to be related to family ties or financial contributions, The Hill reported. reported. Among these arguments, defense attorneys have criticized the proposed $685 million in damages as being based on “junk science.”
The federal lawsuit, first filed in Illinois, alleges that prominent U.S. universities conspire to fix prices and inflate the net cost of attendance for financial aid recipients by determining scholarships in an unfair and common manner. He was accused of These universities face allegations that they “artificially inflated the net cost of attendance for students receiving financial aid.”
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