The result, they say, would be a less equitable distribution of financial aid, or a net increase of money being spent on financial aid.

And as universities are beginning to confront tighter budgets, some say they will also face increased pressure to abandon their expensive need-blind admissions policies.

College administrators are carefully monitoring the situation, and any such drastic change will probably prompt an appeal to Congress to pass legislation permitting them to renew the overlap process.

Officials at Columbia University have already indicated that they will seek appropriate Congressional action. But such action is probably unlikely unless the universities lobby for it collectively.

Despite the universities' arguments to the contrary, the Justice Department appears convinced that the added competition will lead to both lower tuition rates and higher awards for students.

Vice President for Finance Robert Scott, however, says the settlement might lead to an "upward pressure" on tuition as more financial aid is offered.

"I personally think that this is going to make the cost of higher education higher," Scott says.

In addition, under the terms of the decree, the colleges will have to establish an elaborate program that allows federal investigators to oversee compliance. This program, Steiner says, will also lead to greater budget demands.

Indeed, the best aspect of the consent decree for colleges may be that it ended a massive two-year series of investigations and negotiations that was costing a pretty penny: Princeton vice president Robert Durkee estimates that the eight universities have spent a total sum of more than $4 million already in legal and document costs.