Sensational stories are noted and remembered, while more typical stories remain untold. Party night annals make no mention of students who spent the evening studying or working a second part-time job. Certainly, don't hold your breath for special reports about the full one-third of American college students who choose to abstain. The resounding silence about that story may be part of the reason that college students perceive that only about two percent of college students choose not to consume alcohol, an underestimation making it harder to abstain for those choosing that path. While numerous factors contribute to the persistent myth that college is a four-year party, this myth, like most, reflects a bit of the truth.
College students do drink more than their non-collegiate peers do.
Too often, students enter college perceiving alcohol abuse is expected and accepted. Certainly, individuals are always responsible for their personal choices. However, the prevalent norms, whether real or perceived, are guideposts for new students. Research demonstrates that overestimation of student drinking and drunkenness can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When college students think everyone drinks, drinking rates rise due to influences from what turns out to be imaginary peers.