One of the most striking developments in Italian higher education in recent years has been the growth of commercial tutoring schools, which help college students prepare for the oral examinations on which their grades are based. By far the largest of such schools, the European Center for University Preparation, known by its Italian abbreviation, CEPU, was founded in 1992 and today operates 120 branches nationwide. The privately held company claims to have grossed $125-million and to have helped students prepare for 30,000 examinations. Tutors, who typically are recent university graduates, provide individual instruction at hours chosen by the student and receive only partial payment unless and until the student passes the examination. This article reports on the flourishing of expensive tutoring schools which profit from Italian higher education's fundamental deficiency--a lack of individualized attention.