
Children of the wealthy and connected get special admissions consideration at some elite U.S. universities, according to new filings in a class-action lawsuit originally brought against 17 schools. Georgetown’s then-president, for example, listed a prospective student on his “president’s list” after meeting her and her wealthy father at an Idaho conference known as “summer camp for billionaires,” according to Tuesday court filings in the price-fixing lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court in 2022. Although it’s always been assumed that such favoritism exists, the filings offer a rare peek at the often secret deliberations of university heads and admissions officials. They show how schools admit otherwise unqualified wealthy children because their parents have connections and could possibly donate large sums down the line, raising questions about fairness. Stuart Schmill, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in a 2018 email that the university admitted four out of six applicants recommended by then-board chairman Robert Millard, including two who “we would really not have otherwise admitted.” The two others were not admitted because they were “not in the ball park, or the push from him was not as strong.” In the email, Schmill said Millard was careful to play down his influence on admissions decisions, but he said the chair also sent notes on all six students and later met with Schmill to share insight “into who he thought was more of a priority.” The filings are the latest salvo in a lawsuit that claims that 17 of the nation’s most prestigious colleges colluded to reduce the competition for prospective students and drive down the amount of financial aid they would offer, all while giving special preference to the children of wealthy donors. “That illegal collusion resulted in the defendants providing far less aid to students than would have been provided in a free market,” said Robert Gilbert, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Since the lawsuit was filed, 10 of the schools have reached settlements to pay out a total of $284 million, including payments of up to $2,000 to current or former students whose financial aid might have been shortchanged over a period of more than two decades. They are Brown, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Yale. Johns Hopkins is working on a settlement and the six schools still fighting the lawsuit are the California Institute of Technology, Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania. MIT called the lawsuit and the claims about admissions favoritism baseless. “MIT has no history of wealth favoritism in its admissions; quite the opposite,” university spokesperson Kimberly Allen said. “After years of discovery in which millions of documents were produced that provide an overwhelming record of independence in our admissions process, plaintiffs could cite just a single instance in which the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants." In a statement, Penn also said the case is meritless that the evidence shows that it doesn't favor students whose families have donated or pledged money to the Ivy League school. “Plaintiffs’ whole case is an attempt to embarrass the University about its purported admission practices on issues totally unrelated to this case," the school said. Notre Dame officials also called the case baseless. “We are confident that every student admitted to Notre Dame is fully qualified and ready to succeed,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. The South Bend, Indiana, school, though, did apparently admit wealthy students with subpar academic backgrounds. According to the new court filings, Don Bishop, who was then associate vice president for enrollment at Notre Dame, bluntly wrote about the “special interest” admits in a 2012 email, saying that year's crop had poorer academic records than the previous year's. The 2012 group included 38 applicants who were given a “very low” academic rating, Bishop wrote. He said those students represented “massive allowances to the power of the family connections and funding history,” adding that “we allowed their high gifting or potential gifting to influence our choices more this year than last year.” The final line of his email: “Sure hope the wealthy next year raise a few more smart kids!” Some of the examples pointed to in this week's court filings showed that just being able to pay full tuition would give students an advantage. During a deposition, a former Vanderbilt admissions director said that in some cases, a student would get an edge on the waitlist if they didn’t need financial aid. The 17 schools were part of a decades-old group that got permission from Congress to come up with a shared approach to awarding financial aid. Such an arrangement might otherwise violate antitrust laws, but Congress allowed it as long as the colleges all had need-blind admissions policies, meaning they wouldn't consider a student’s financial situation when deciding who gets in. The lawsuit argues that many colleges claimed to be need-blind but routinely favored the children of alumni and donors. In doing so, the suit says, the colleges violated the Congressional exemption and tainted the entire organization. The group dissolved in recent years when the provision allowing the collaboration expired. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .
As the second trial opened on December 19th, the courtroom was packed with reporters, onlookers, and supporters of both the victim and the accused. Emotions ran high as Yang Niuhua, now in her fifties, once again took the stand to face the accusations against her.In conclusion, the astronomical price tag attached to the chewed gum is not just a result of irrationality or frivolity. It is a reflection of the powerful role that emotional value plays in our economic decisions. Whether we realize it or not, our emotions often drive our purchasing behavior, leading us to assign extraordinary value to objects that hold a special place in our hearts. The next time you come across a seemingly outrageous price tag, consider the emotional value that may be driving it, and you may just gain a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between emotions and economics.
Archer Aviation Inc. ( NYSE:ACHR – Get Free Report )’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.80, but opened at $11.12. Archer Aviation shares last traded at $10.79, with a volume of 13,042,054 shares changing hands. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research firms have weighed in on ACHR. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of Archer Aviation in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Archer Aviation from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Archer Aviation from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Archer Aviation from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Archer Aviation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.63. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ACHR Archer Aviation Stock Down 1.3 % Archer Aviation ( NYSE:ACHR – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Archer Aviation Inc. will post -1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Transactions at Archer Aviation In other Archer Aviation news, Director Deborah Diaz purchased 5,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.48 per share, with a total value of $38,522.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 98,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,667.28. This represents a 5.49 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link . Also, CEO Adam D. Goldstein sold 805,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.63, for a total transaction of $3,727,937.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,197,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,432,739.68. This represents a 16.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last three months, insiders acquired 776,791 shares of company stock valued at $5,139,699 and sold 1,812,899 shares valued at $11,601,707. Corporate insiders own 9.75% of the company’s stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Archer Aviation by 50.0% in the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Archer Aviation by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 3,033 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Archer Aviation by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Archer Aviation by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Archer Aviation by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,505 shares during the last quarter. 59.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Archer Aviation Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Archer Aviation Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in designs, develops, and operates electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility. The company was formerly known as Atlas Crest Investment Corp. and changed its name to Archer Aviation Inc The company is headquartered in San Jose, California. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Archer Aviation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer Aviation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .MLB NOTES (copy)During the Kansas City Chiefs’ Christmas Day game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was rumored that Taylor Swift made a low-key appearance in the crowd. During the Wednesday, December 25, game in Pennsylvania, several attendees claimed via social media that they saw Swift, 35, sitting in a private box wearing a white cardigan and her signature red lip . Swift, however, was not present at Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday. The attendee in question, a TikToker named Olivia , has since addressed the comparisons. “Today, I was at the Steelers [versus] Kansas City game for Christmas and I was sitting in a box seat with my best friend,” Olivia said in a video posted later on Wednesday. “We were having a really, really nice time. ... I would see a lot of people take pictures of me or wave to me. I would wave back, like, I didn’t want to be mean or rude. I was like, ‘Maybe they think I’m Taylor Swift?’ I can see it from far away.” Olivia said that a “staff member came up” to her when the game ended, stating that she was going viral on social media for presumably being Swift. “I’m sorry to the people that thought I was Taylor Swift, but yeah, everyone was like, ‘Is that Taylor Swift in the white sweater?’ It was me,” Olivia quipped. “There were a bunch of videos of me standing up or me sitting down or, like, talking to my friend. It was a whole thing.” #steelergame #taylorswift #cheifsvssteelers ♬ original sound – olivias.version13 She concluded, “I hope you had a really nice time otherwise, but very sorry about that one.” Swift has been a staple at Kansas City Chiefs football games since fall 2023 when she started dating tight end Travis Kelce . “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” the Grammy winner told TIME in December 2023 . “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.” You have successfully subscribed. By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Check our latest news in Google News Check our latest news in Apple News This season, however, Swift has only made it to home games at Missouri’s Arrowhead Stadium. After Kelce, 35, and the Chiefs won 29-10 on Wednesday, Swift shared her support from afar. Swift dropped “likes” on several Instagram posts highlighting Kelce’s latest team milestone. He is now the team’s receiver with the most touchdowns, surpassing retired athlete Tony Gonzalez . “It’s everything to me. Tony’s been a mentor to me, he’s been there right there for me [with] any questions I’ve ever had,” Kelce said in a postgame interview. “I feel like I’m still trying to fill that guy’s shoes . He’s such an unbelievable competitor and I’ve got so much love for him. It’s an honor to be in conversations with him.”