Colleges allocate scarce resources to remediation activities, while students commonly use federal grants and subsidised loans to cover the cost of remedial education. This leaves them fewer resources for their post-secondary studies and increases the chance of dropout, and financial distress. Some examples of initiatives designed to help those who encounter difficulties once they start college are given below. The strategy is based on the principle that skills taught in one course and reinforced in another are more likely to be mastered.