August 07, 2026
A Massachusetts federal judge refused Friday to let 32 elite universities duck a proposed class action alleging they used the early-decision admissions process as an anticompetitive scheme to raise tuition, even as she dismissed the consortium and the two college application providers that allegedly facilitated the scheme from the suit.
May 01, 2026
A federal judge in Boston heard elite universities argue Friday that the "early decision" admissions process is not a scheme to raise tuition but an option for students who want a better shot at admission to their first-choice school.
October 16, 2025
A proposed class action against 32 colleges and universities fails to turn the "early decision" application process into an alleged conspiracy not to compete for applicants, in part because the schools have no reason to entice committed students away from their first choice of colleges, the defendants argued to a Massachusetts federal court.
August 08, 2025
Thirty-two colleges and universities violated federal antitrust laws by sharing data about students admitted through an "early decision" process, reducing competition and inflating tuition by boxing applicants out of potentially more rewarding financial aid packages elsewhere, students alleged in a proposed federal class action on Friday.