A recent antitrust lawsuit claims that some of the richest educational institutions in the U.S. are overcharging students whose parents are divorced or separated.

This federal class-action suit, filed on Monday in an Illinois district court, identifies 40 private colleges, including well-known names like Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Stanford, alleging that they colluded to maintain high costs for students with “noncustodial parents.”

To qualify for financial aid beyond federal assistance, students are required to utilize the CSS Profile—a financial application managed by the College Board, which is also responsible for the SAT and Advanced Placement exams across the country.

As part of the application process, students must report their noncustodial parents’ financial details. According to two students—one from Boston University and another from Cornell University—the College Board’s requirement has led to a reduction in financial aid availability for them and others.

Attorney Steve Berman, representing the plaintiffs, stated that they had discovered a “significant factor” contributing to rising college costs.

“Many of those affected, primarily students from divorced families, were unaware of this alleged scheme, which has resulted in them receiving less financial support than they should in a fair market,” Berman explained.

This legal action follows a different class action settlement involving some of the same institutions, which was related to claims of fixing financial aid prices and resulted in a $284 million agreement earlier this year. Students from those universities could receive compensation that amounts to hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The College Board expressed confidence in its defense against the latest lawsuit in a statement released on Wednesday.

John Beckman, spokesperson for New York University, referred to the lawsuit as baseless and stated, “NYU is prepared to vigorously defend its financial aid policies and practices.”

Institutions such as Cornell, Northeastern, Northwestern, Columbia, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Tufts, MIT, Duke, Brandeis, and Georgetown opted not to comment on the lawsuit when approached. Other schools have not yet provided responses to inquiries.