&quot;How can not for profit schools justify gauging their students?&quot;<p>In the U.S. <i>everything</i> is for profit.  It&#x27;s just that some of the for-profits find it beneficial to file as a non-profit for the benefits it confers.<p>Look at just about any big American university or hospital.  You have marketing, customers, revenue maximization, ruthlessly driving down labor costs, and as much cash as possible captured by the CEO (er, president) and other high level executives.<p>The great thing about running a business like this, is how the U.S. government earmarks massive amounts of the national GDP, which can only be used on your product.  School loans, as others have mentioned, and Medicare&#x2F;Medicaid for health care.