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Judge Pushes Elite College Financial Aid Antitrust Trial Toward Thanksgiving Finish

By  |  July 23, 2026
Judge Pushes Elite College Financial Aid Antitrust Trial Toward Thanksgiving Finish

A federal judge overseeing the long-running antitrust lawsuit accusing elite universities of conspiring to limit financial aid wants the remaining case completed before Thanksgiving, signaling an effort to keep one of the nation’s highest-profile higher education lawsuits on a fast track.

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    U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly told attorneys handling the case that he intends for the trial involving the remaining defendant universities to conclude before the Thanksgiving holiday after years of pretrial litigation and a series of settlements involving other schools.

    The lawsuit, filed in 2022 on behalf of current and former students, alleges that a group of prestigious private universities unlawfully coordinated how they calculated students’ financial need, reducing competition for financial aid packages and forcing students to pay more for college. The universities deny the allegations.

    At the center of the dispute is the 568 Presidents Group, a consortium of colleges that collaborated on financial aid methodology under a federal antitrust exemption available to institutions that admit students without considering their ability to pay. The plaintiffs contend some participating schools were not fully need-blind in certain admissions decisions and therefore were not eligible for that exemption.

    The litigation has steadily narrowed as universities reached settlements while denying wrongdoing. Twelve institutions have agreed to settlements totaling nearly $320 million, leaving a handful of schools to defend the case at trial.

    The case has become one of the most closely watched antitrust disputes involving higher education because it tests the limits of the decades-old legal exemption allowing qualifying colleges to cooperate on financial aid formulas. A verdict against the remaining universities could reshape how selective private institutions calculate and coordinate need-based aid.

    Judge Kennelly has also overseen disputes over class certification and the plaintiffs’ legal representation, including questions surrounding litigation funding arrangements disclosed earlier this year. Those issues were resolved without derailing preparations for trial.

    If the trial proceeds on schedule, it will mark the first opportunity for a court to decide the merits of the students’ price-fixing claims rather than resolving them through settlement.

    Source: MLex