"There are plenty of schools outside the original overlap group who would have joined an agreement like the original overlap agreement who won't be able to," he says.

To the Law?

Officials of several Ivy schools, including Yale President Richard C. Levin, have suggested possible legislative action to broaden the scope of the original agreement.

Both Green and Rudenstine say that Harvard would participate in any action. "If there were to be a broad aid agreement, we'd have to have legislative relief," Rudenstine says.

"Such action is worthy of further pursuit," Fryer says. "But at the moment nothing's happening."

In addition, 1992 legislation which allows discussion of financial aid policies will expire this summer, according to Robert K. Durkee, Princeton's vice-president for public affairs.

Durkee says that new legislation incorporating the settlement guidelines and possible expanding the agreement to include more schools would need to be enacted as soon as possible--preferably before the old regulations expire.

There are two basic differences between the old legislation and the MIT-Justice Department settlement which would have to be part of any new action, he says.

First, Durkee says, "the language in the settlement is clearer than the language in the legislation on the question of schools reaching agreement about policies determining financial aid."

Second, the legislation does not speak to the question of schools sharing information about students. The settlement says that basic information about common applicants can be shared before awards are made. After awards are made, schools may do an "aggregate analysis" to identify schools deviating from the agreed upon policies.

A spokesperson from MIT says the school is open to further legislation.

Kenneth D. Campbell, director of MIT's news office, says: "Because the Ivies are reluctant, I guess some sort of legislation would be needed to make people feel more at ease."

The Ivy Group

But no final decisions about the future of the overlap group or legislative action have been made, according to Rudenstine, current chair of the Ivy Group.

"Right now it's more a question of individual institutions consulting with their boards, consulting with their admissions officers," he says. "They are thinking very hard, because it's not only a question of immediate commitment--it's a prospective commitment to full need-blind admissions and full need-based aid for all students."