32 Colleges Sued Over Early Decision: Lawsuit Could Reshape Admissions

For decades, Early Decision has been the secret weapon of America’s most selective colleges to lock in applicants before they see other offers and shape incoming classes with surgical precision. But now, that very system is under fire. In August 2025, a class-action lawsuit was filed against 32 of the nation’s most elite institutions, from the Ivy League to top liberal arts colleges, alleging that binding ED practices are unfair and potentially illegal.

At the heart of the case are claims that ED artificially inflates tuition, disadvantages middle- and lower-income students, and stifles competition between schools. If the plaintiffs succeed, this lawsuit could rewrite the rules of U.S. college admissions and reshape how families approach one of the most high-stakes educational decisions.

Here is what you need to know about what this all means for students weighing Early Decision as a strategy:

1. Access & Equity: Binding ED tends to favor students with greater financial flexibility. If you are worried about aid or want to compare several offers, ED can lock you in before you see all the options.

2. Financial Cost / Tuition / Net Price: Since ED students committed earlier, the argument is that colleges have less incentive to offer generous financial aid or compete on price.

3. Transparency & Student Choice: The lawsuit argues that some students do not understand how binding ED is or believe they have room to shop around even after acceptance.

4. Systemic Behavior & Competition: The claim that institutions collude (explicitly or implicitly) to avoid “poaching” each other’s ED admits or not compete on financial aid offers means that these colleges are not operating in a fully competitive marketplace.

5. Legal and Policy Implications: If binding ED is curtailed, bans are imposed, or institutions are required to provide more aid/transparency or alter how ED is structured, that could ripple across many schools.

What This Means for Students & Applicants (Forward-Looking)

If you’re a high school student or parent navigating college admissions, here are the potential implications and strategies. Even before any ruling, it’s smart to think ahead.

1. Understand Early Decision Fully. If you are considering applying to ED, treat it as binding. Ask: What happens if my financial situation is uncertain? Can I compare offers? What is their ED aid policy? Sometimes, ED schools provide generous aid; sometimes, less so.

2. Ask Schools About Financial Aid Transparency: Before applying for ED, reach out to the financial aid office. Ask for clarity: What is your average aid for ED applicants vs. regular applicants? What percentage of your class is admitted ED? How many of those get grants vs. loans?

3. Balance Risk vs Reward: ED applications often come with higher acceptance rates, but the trade-offs are less flexibility. If cost matters a lot, or you want to compare, applying Early Action or Regular Decision might give you more leverage.

4. Keep an Eye on Policy changes. Given this lawsuit, you might see changes in the next few years. Schools may revise ED policies, offer more transparency, or even reduce the use of binding ED. Some institutions could preemptively reform to avoid legal exposure.

Our Take: What Seems Likely vs What Would Be Hard to Change

What seems probable:

• It is likely that some aspects of ED policies will be more heavily scrutinized, and schools may adopt more safeguards or alterations and add more clarity around what binding means, more opt-out in cases of financial need, and possibly stronger or earlier estimates of aid.

• Some schools, especially those under budget pressure or wanting to protect their reputation, may proactively adjust practices.

• The case may succeed in part (class certification or injunctive relief) even if full damages are not awarded. There is precedent for institutions modifying policies in response to lawsuits, even without losing entirely.

What would be difficult:

• Completely eliminating binding Early Decision across all selective private colleges is a tall order. Many colleges see ED as part of their strategy: it helps them manage their incoming class, yield, predictability, and marketing.

• For colleges with small endowments or less financial flexibility, offering more aid broadly may be financially challenging. Even with legal pressure, resource constraints matter.

• Uniform changes across all 32 schools will be hard, due to differences in mission, finances, student populations, donor expectations.