Bowdoin among colleges sued for early decision admissions practices

Bowdoin College is one of 32 higher education institutions named in a class-action lawsuit accusing the schools of conspiring to use early admissions practices to inflate tuition costs.

Early decision admissions — offered mostly by selective, elite colleges — allow students to apply to and hear back from schools before the traditional application deadline. But the decision is binding, meaning that they must accept an offer if admitted and withdraw all of their other applications.

The suit , filed Friday in Massachusetts federal court, claims that early admissions practices drive up the cost of education and prevent students from comparing financial aid offers, and names dozens of elite institutions it claims conspire to reduce price competition, including many Ivy League schools, as we