Americans have decided that the work of nonprofit colleges and universities is so invaluable that they should be exempt from taxes. Those tax exemptions involve a social compact: In exchange, colleges are obliged to carry out the charitable purpose of providing the best education to the most students at the lowest cost. In this article, the author discusses how he wanted to know how colleges maximize their tax-exempt status to fulfill their charitable mission of educating students. He also asks how well-financed institutions use their financial success to help students afford college.