Lawsuit Claims Top Universities, Including Cornell And MIT, Formed ‘Price-Fixing Cartel’ To Favor Wealthy Students

A new motion filed Monday alleges that several top-tier 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.

A group of former students initiated the lawsuit in 2022 and now demands $685 million in damages from the implicated institutions, according to The Hill. The lawsuit accuses these elite schools of considering the financial stature and donation capacity of certain applicants.

This alleged breach of ethical admissions practices stirred criticism, with plaintiffs pointing to specific instances of misconduct, The Hill reported. In one instance, documents cite a former Georgetown University president who supposedly secured admissions for 80 students primarily based on their families’ wealth or potential donations.

The universities deny these allegations, The Hill said. In a statement, MIT countered claims of favoritism linked to wealth and claimed that their admissions processes are rigorously independent, evidenced by millions of documents from an extensive discovery phase.

“MIT has no history of wealth favoritism in its admissions; quite the opposite. After years of discovery in which millions of documents were produced that provide an overwhelming record of independence in our admissions process, plaintiffs could cite just a single instance in which the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants,” MIT said in a statement.