[M T]

The article:

The proposed antitrust class action lawsuit, filed Sunday in federal court in Chicago, accuses the university “cartel” of a long-running scheme to collectively adopt “a common formula for determining an applicant’s ability to pay” tuition, rather than competing freely over financial aid by trying to attract students through more generous aid offers.

From the 568 group's site:  Antitrust Exemption Statute:

Application of Antitrust Laws to Award of Need-Based Educational Aid
15 U.S.C 1 Note
(as amended by Pub. L. 114–44)

“(a) Exemption.—It shall not be unlawful under the antitrust laws for 2 or more institutions of higher education at
which all students admitted are admitted on a need-blind basis, to agree or attempt to agree—
“(1) to award such students financial aid only on the basis of demonstrated financial need for such aid;
“(2) to use common principles of analysis for determining the need of such students for financial aid if the
agreement to use such principles does not restrict financial aid officers at such institutions in their
exercising independent professional judgment with respect to individual applicants for such financial aid; 
or ...

"a common formula for determining an applicant's ability to pay" is very similar to
"common principles of analysis for determining the need of such students for financial aid"

If that is the primary claim of the suit, I'd be hard pressed to see why that is not specifically exempted by the law, unless they are somehow claiming that the group is restricting individual schools from exercising their independent professional judgement.

[M T]

The article:

The proposed antitrust class action lawsuit, filed Sunday in federal court in Chicago, accuses the university “cartel” of a long-running scheme to collectively adopt “a common formula for determining an applicant’s ability to pay” tuition, rather than competing freely over financial aid by trying to attract students through more generous aid offers.

From the 568 group's site:  Antitrust Exemption Statute:

Application of Antitrust Laws to Award of Need-Based Educational Aid
15 U.S.C 1 Note
(as amended by Pub. L. 114–44)

“(a) Exemption.—It shall not be unlawful under the antitrust laws for 2 or more institutions of higher education at
which all students admitted are admitted on a need-blind basis, to agree or attempt to agree—
“(1) to award such students financial aid only on the basis of demonstrated financial need for such aid;
“(2) to use common principles of analysis for determining the need of such students for financial aid if the
agreement to use such principles does not restrict financial aid officers at such institutions in their
exercising independent professional judgment with respect to individual applicants for such financial aid; 
or ...

"a common formula for determining an applicant's ability to pay" is very similar to
"common principles of analysis for determining the need of such students for financial aid"

If that is the primary claim of the suit, I'd be hard pressed to see why that is not specifically exempted by the law, unless they are somehow claiming that the group is restricting individual schools from exercising their independent professional judgement.