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Cornell is among 40 top U.S. colleges named in a sweeping class-action lawsuit regarding price-fixing financial aid packages.

October 16, 2024

Cornell Accused of Price-Fixing Financial Aid Packages

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A sweeping class-action lawsuit alleges Cornell and 39 other top U.S. colleges conspired to overcharge students by including noncustodial parents’ assets in financial aid calculations.

Noncustodial parents include those who do not have custody of a minor and do not normally live with them. According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court on Oct. 7, Cornell and dozens of other elite institutions violated federal antitrust laws by manipulating how need-based financial aid was calculated. 

College Board was also named as a defendant for its College Scholarship Service Profile. The CSS Profile is widely used to apply for non-federal financial aid, which is generally given to students from the university’s own funds.

The suit alleges that the schools involved helped develop and use the NCP Agreed Pricing Strategy, which required applicants to disclose the financial information of noncustodial parents in their CSS applications. 

The suit — which was brought upon by Eileen Chang ’21 and Maxwell Hanse, a current student at Boston University — alleges that this collusion allowed these universities to lower financial aid packages, resulting in a substantial increase in the net cost of attendance by approximately $6,200 per academic year when compared to other universities that did not consider noncustodial parental income. The suit now seeks a formal court order to stop the alleged conspiracy.

A spokesperson for the University declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“College Board is aware of the legal action, and we are reviewing it, but we are confident that we will prevail in this action and we will continue to support our member colleges,” College Board wrote in a statement to The Sun.

Jeremiah Jung is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].

Update, 10/21, 10:19 a.m.: This article has been updated to include a statement from the College Board.