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University of Chicago agrees to pay $13.5M in financial aid lawsuit

August 16, 2023 / 7:17 AM CDT / CBS Chicago

UChicago to pay $13.5M in financial aid price-fixing conspiracy

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The University of Chicago has agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it conspired with other elite schools to restrict financial aid.

The lawsuit accused 17 schools - including UChicago and Northwestern - of participating in a "price-fixing conspiracy" that artificially inflated tuition costs for students receiving financial aid.

The school is the first school to reach a settlement. It still needs approval from the courts.

UChicago maintains it did nothing wrong.

Lawsuit

Jeramie Bizzle

Jeramie Bizzle is a web producer for CBS Chicago. Jeramie began working with CBS Chicago as an intern in 2017 and returned as a full-time Web Producer in 2021. He has previously written for the Austin Weekly Newspaper, OakPark.com and Sportskeeda.