Bryn Mawr College students are among many vocally opposing the merger of McGraw-Hill and Cengage, the second and third largest textbook sellers in the country, as the Department of Justice inches closer to approving the deal, writes Josh Kosman for the New York Post.

The two textbook publishers have been given a signal by the department’s antitrust division that it will approve the deal if they agree to sell some assets.

If the okay is granted, the deal valued at $5 billion could proceed early next year.

However, the student groups are warning that the merger will only further increase the already skyrocketing college costs.

“Given that so many students already skip buying materials in this broken marketplace, we are skeptical that the merger will do anything but exacerbate the problem,” states a letter signed by 40 student government associations, including those from Bryn Mawr College.

The companies have responded by stating that blocking the merger will do little to prevent rising prices because they barely overlap in their respective academic subjects.

Additionally, any areas that do overlap would have to be sold for the merger to proceed.

Read more about the issue at the New York Post by clicking here.