The Ultimate Betrayal: Revelations After the Financial Aid Antitrust Lawsuit

By Megan McGrath and Hamdi Ceseer

A few months ago, I received the tremendous email informing me that because I attended Vanderbilt University from 2021-present and received need-based financial aid that did not fully cover my expenses, I was entitled to a payout as a claimant in the Financial Aid Lawsuit Settlement! I kept waiting for my boyfriend, Richard, who also attended Vanderbilt University during those years, to bring up the email as well, but he never did. I assumed it went to his spam folder, presenting me with the perfect opportunity to surprise him with the news of our impending payouts: $2000 each! 

I kept the invitation vague, sharing only that I had exciting news to discuss with him, so we went out to dinner at Chili’s. “Richard!” I cried as the chips and salsa arrived. “Check your spam folder! We just received official notifications about our rights as claimants in the Anti-Trust Financial Aid Lawsuit Settlement!”

“What are you talking about? I check my spam folder every day to see if I got more Letterboxd followers, but I didn’t receive any email like that.”

“Oh goodness, it must be a mistake! They forgot to send you an email. We’ll have to get in contact with the correct authorities. You deserve every dime you can possibly get as retribution for ‘the Universities conspir[ing] in violation of the federal antitrust laws regarding principles, formulas, and methods of determining financial aid.’”¹

“Oh, that explains it. Poppy, I’m not even on financial aid.”

My jaw dropped. My stomach sank. A flurry of confusion clouded my mind. Not on financial aid? Not a single cent? He pays $94,075 a year to Vanderbilt University… out of pocket??? I am a pauper and he is… rich???

I slipped into denial. There was no way the same man who insisted on going dutch at Taco Mama and who gave me a random assortment of cheap TEMU items for my birthday, was rich. Nausea bubbled in my stomach as I asked, “You’re using student loans then, right?”

“Nope.”

Shock. Betrayal. Bamboozlement. I was filled with a whirlwind of emotions, and combined with the watery salsa we had indulged in, I was far too close to vomiting and passing out. I tried to resist it, knowing I couldn’t afford an emergency ambulance ride. How could he have misled me like this? Worse, how could I have fallen for his wealthy web of lies?

I gave Richard the benefit of the doubt every time he refused to open his wallet. He was a charming feminist when he let me pay the bill on our dates, and an environmentally conscious gentleman that refused to disturb muddy puddles with his jacket for my sake (leave no trace) when we took romantic strolls on campus. Every penny pinching moment suddenly connected. Richard wasn’t just rich. He was a dick as well. 

1.  Henry et. al. v. Brown University et. al. ↩︎