Harvard, Yale, MIT and other elite US institutes under fire: Lawsuit alleges financial aid bias against students from divorced families

In today’s competitive world, obtaining a higher education has become essential for a successful career. The United States is considered one of the most preferred destinations for higher education, attracting both national and international students. However, the cost of education in the US, particularly at private universities, is exorbitant. Recently, it has come to light that some of these top private universities are charging even more.
Around forty prestigious private universities across the US are under scrutiny following a lawsuit alleging that these institutions conspired to overcharge students for their education.Media reports indicate that the lawsuit, which includes major universities such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, accuses these schools of unfairly penalizing applicants from divorced or separated homes by factoring in the financial background of noncustodial parents when determining financial aid packages.
According to reports, these universities require students seeking non-federal financial aid to complete the CSS Profile, an application managed by the College Board, which also oversees the SAT and Advanced Placement courses nationwide. This application mandates that students disclose the financial assets of their noncustodial parents.
As reported by USA Today, the lawsuit was filed by a Boston University student and a former Cornell University student, who claim that this requirement decreased the amount of financial aid available to them and others.
The lawsuit seeks $5 million in monetary damages and a court order to halt the alleged conspiracy. It also names the College Board, the non-profit organization that developed the financial aid methodology used by the universities.
According to NBC News, the lawsuit alleges that the College Board’s methodology, which began incorporating noncustodial parents’ financial information in 2006, fails to consider whether these parents would actually contribute to a student’s education. The law firm Hagens Berman, representing the case, claims that this has led to an increase in tuition costs of approximately $6,200 compared to top schools not participating in the College Board’s methodology.
The law firm also emphasized that this has become a “major factor” behind the rising cost of higher education in the US, as reported by USA Today.
“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,” Hagens Berman stated, according to USA Today.
In response to the lawsuit, the College Board stated that it is reviewing the allegations but is confident it will prevail in this matter. Some of the high-profile universities involved include Harvard University, Cornell University, Yale University, Columbia University, Dartmouth University, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, and Duke University.
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