According to a 2024 report by Johns Hopkins University, studies indicate that about 70% of students reported drinking during Spring Break, with almost a quarter of students reported drinking on five or more days during this week. However, it’s stereotypical to generally associate college students with excessive drinking, whether it be Spring Break season or not. Many college students don’t drink at all, and it’s realistic to think that even more students want to be responsible drinkers. Being responsible about drinking requires accurate information about alcohol. Below are seven things about alcohol that many students and their parents don’t know.
Many Red Solo Cups Have Measurements
A 2025 report by the University of Georgia illustrates how many red solo cups have measurements to help individuals monitor their drinking. The bottom of the cup to the lowest indention represents the approximate standard size of a shot. The bottom of the cup to the second lowest indention represents the approximate standard size of a glass of wine, and to the third indention represents the approximate standard size of a can of beer. This is important because if students pour hard liquor into half of the cup, they might mistakenly believe that they’re consuming just a half a standard drink; however, in reality, they could be consuming four to five shots.
What B.A.C. really is
A 2025 report by Stanford described Blood Alcohol Concentration as the percentage of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream that can be measured within 30-70 minutes after drinking. A B.A.C. of .10% means that a person has alcohol in one out of every 1000 units of blood. This may not sound significant to many students and their parents. However, the legal limit for B.A.C. to drive is .08, and a 200-pound male is likely to surpass the legal limit and hit .10% within 30 minutes of having just 4 beers.
How Much Other Students Actually Drink
A 2020 study in the journal of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors found that 84.8% of first year students overestimated the frequency of heavy drinking among all first-year students of the same gender. When asked about specific important peers, 36.9% of students still overestimated the frequency of heavy drinking among the peers they knew. The tendency to overestimate how much others drink can lead to students drinking more. Conversely, knowing that many students don’t drink as much as previously thought might motivate some students to reduce their drinking.
How Many Calories Are In Alcoholic Drinks
According to a 2025 report on Medlineplus.gov, a publication of the National Library of Medicine, four beers can have up to 1,4000 calories and four vodka and tonic drinks can have up to 756 calories. However, these numbers are for standard size drinks and many students drink more than standard sizes. Thus, for students who are health conscious, failure to consider the calories from alcoholic drinks can impede their fitness goals.
How Much Time is Spent With Alcohol
It’s important for students to calculate how many hours of the week they spend preparing to obtain alcohol, in the presence of alcohol, using alcohol, or recovering from the affects of alcohol. Some students report spending over 40 hours a week on alcohol related activities. It’s not uncommon for these students to be shocked by this insight, especially if/when they report struggles with time management.
How Much Money Is Spent On Alcohol
It’s also important for students to calculate how much money they spend on alcohol related activities. This includes fees to organizations that might provide alcohol and the money that others spend to buy them drinks. Again, it’s not uncommon for students to feel surprised by the amount of money that is related to their drinking, and this insight could motivate them to reduce their use.
What Alcohol-Induced Blackouts Really Are
A 2024 report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism described alcohol-induced blackouts as occurring when alcohol blocks the transfer of memories from short-term to long-term storage in the brain’s hippocampus. This can result in spotty memories of events that occurred while drinking, or complete amnesia that might span hours. According to this report, blackouts typically occur when a person’s B.A.C. reaches .16 percent (which is twice the legal limit), and with severe blackouts, memories of events don’t even form. Thus, students at this point of intoxication are interacting in their environments without anything being able to be crystalized into a memory. Even if these students experienced a traumatic event, or caused a traumatic event to occur, they wouldn’t remember.
Deciding to drink while in college is a personal choice. Knowing the important facts about alcohol can help students make better informed choices. Knowing these facts can also help parents be more informative while supporting their students.
