College Students and Alcohol Use
Heavy alcohol use by college students can lead to a cascade of alcohol-related problems, such as increased chances of risky
behavior, lowered GPAs, and lowered income potential.1
In a 2005 nationwide survey of college students, 44.8 percent of
students were classified as “binge” drinkers—consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.2
College student alcohol use hurts student drinkers and the surrounding community. Strategies to reduce college underage and
binge drinking include community and environmental policy changes and the enforcement of laws and regulations.
Who drinks and how much?
• Binge drinking peaks at ages 21-23 (49.9 percent at age 21, 46.6 percent at age 22, and 47.7 percent at age 23).3
• College students had more occasions of heavy drinking, defined as five or more drinks in a row, within the past 30
days than non-college adolescents of the same age (40 percent vs. 35 percent).4
• 19.5 percent of full-time college students, aged 18-22, were considered heavy drinkers compared to 13.0 percent of
people in the same age group who were not enrolled full-time in college.5
• College students who drank at least once a month during their senior year in high school had a more than three times
greater likelihood to begin binge drinking in college than students who drank less frequently in high school.6
• 12.7 percent of students begin drinking beer over the course of their first year in college.7
First-year students drink
less frequently but more heavily than upper-class students.8
• 74.7 percent of athletes attending NCAA Division I schools used alcohol. 74.5 percent of athletes at NCAA Division
II schools and 81.5 percent of athletes in NCAA Division III schools used alcohol.9
• College students who were sports fans were more likely to engage in binge drinking behavior, including adopting
extreme drinking styles and participating in drink price specials and beer-company-promoted promotions.10
• Student membership in Greek organizations strongly predicts heavy alcohol use.11
• College males have a higher prevalence of heavy drinking occasions (50 percent) compared to college females (34
percent).12
Where do students drink or obtain alcohol?
• 87 percent of college students said it was “very” or “somewhat” easy for students under 21 to get alcohol.13
• Most college students obtain alcohol at off-campus parties and off-campus bars.14
• Fewer students attend fraternity parties than off-campus bars, but more of those who attend fraternity parties consume
alcohol heavily than students who drink in off-campus establishments.15
• Multiple alcohol outlets are often located near colleges, especially schools with high binge-drinking rates. Higher
outlet density is associated with an increased perception of alcohol availability, lower retail price through
competition, lower total cost to drinkers (including travel time), increased alcohol consumption, and more alcoholrelated
problems.16
• Students in “wet” environments, in which binge drinking is common and encouraged, alcohol is cheap, and it is easily
obtained, are more likely to start binge drinking in college than peers who are not in “wet” environments.17
• Most underage students get alcohol from legal-drinking-age students, but an increasing number of underage students
report receiving alcohol from parents or relatives