Public Colleges Tame Cost of Tuition  Below is an excerpt from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. II, Number 10: Public four-year colleges have managed to rein in the run-away cost of tuition at their institutions, according to the College Board's annual tuition survey, released last week. But thanks to colleges' increasing use of merit-based aid instead of need-based aid, and the stagnating value of Pell Grants, low-income students have found it more difficult to finance their higher education. The survey, which the College Board presented in three reports, found that tuition at public four-year colleges rose by 7 percent in 2005-06, the smallest growth in four years, and a significantly lower rate than last year's 10 percent surge. At private four-year colleges, however, tuition rose 6 percent, identical to last year, and more than the 5 percent increase in 2003-04. Return to Education Startegy