JHU Gets Final Approval of $18.5 Million Financial Aid Suit Deal

Johns Hopkins University received final approval for an $18.5 million deal to settle claims that the school reduced financial aid and manipulated the admissions system to favor wealthy students.

The deal brings the settlement total in the suit to nearly $320 million for thousands of student plaintiffs who attended private elite universities. Twelve of the 17 defendant schools have reached settlements, including Vanderbilt, Columbia, Brown, and California Institute of Technology.

Students alleged in 2022 the schools violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by conspiring to keep financial aid packages low, in part by unlawfully considering students’ ability to pay. ...