A group of students toasting the cameragettyAccording 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, its stereotypical to generally associate college students with excessive drinking, whether it be Spring Break season or not. Many college students dont drink at all, and its 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 dont know.Many Red Solo Cups Have MeasurementsA 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 theyre consuming just a half a standard drink; however, in reality, they could be consuming four to five shots.What B.A.C. really isA 2025 report by Stanford described Blood Alcohol Concentration as the percentage of alcohol in a persons 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 DrinkA 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 dont drink as much as previously thought might motivate some students to reduce their drinking.How Many Calories Are In Alcoholic DrinksAccording 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 AlcoholIts 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. Its 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 AlcoholIts 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, its 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 AreA 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 brains 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 persons B.A.C. reaches .16 percent (which is twice the legal limit), and with severe blackouts, memories of events dont 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 wouldnt 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.