8 Massachusetts colleges named in lawsuit claiming financial aid "price-fixing conspiracy"
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.
Colleges named in class action financial aid lawsuit
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.
One of the plaintiffs, Maxwell Hansen, is currently a student at Boston University after transferring from American University. The lawsuit says he is receiving $20,000 in student aid from B.U. but is paying "artificially high prices ... because of Defendants' anticompetitive practices."
"The financial burden of college cannot be overstated in today's world, and we believe our antitrust attorneys have uncovered a major influence on the rising cost of higher education," lawsuit filer Steve Berman said in a statement. "Those affected - mostly college applicants from divorced homes - could never have foreseen that this alleged scheme was in place, and students are left receiving less financial aid than they would in a fair market."
The College Board said in a statement to WBZ-TV that it just received notice of the lawsuit and is reviewing it, "but we are confident that we will prevail in this action."
WBZ-TV has also reached out to Boston University for comment.