Students who drink too much too often encounter a myriad of academic difficulties, explains ERIC Digests. They tend to neglect studying in favor of partying and skip class because of hangovers. Habitual drinking becomes a general distraction from school, leading these students to earn lower grades on assignments because they lacked focus or didn't devote enough effort. They also pay less attention in class, thereby learning less and failing class participation. Because of these troubles, students who drink risk flunking classes or dropping out of school.
Alcohol consumption increases the occurrence of sexual assault, violence and property damage. The majority of sexual aggressors and half of sexual victims on college campuses, ERIC Digests notes, are drunk. This problem is so common that every day, over 190 college students experience sexual assault after imbibing alcohol, the "New York Times" reports. Alcohol consumption also increases the occurrence of physical assault, vandalism, property damage and general crime, warns the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.
Drinking dulls the mind and lowers useful inhibitions; hence, college students who drink risk injuring themselves or others through making unwise decisions. Car crashes caused by drinking under the influence of alcohol happen three-times as often among students who binge drink frequently than those who drink less or never, explains the NIAAA. Additionally, when students get drunk, they become more likely to take risks and try physically dangerous activities or stunts. Similarly, students who drink are more likely to catch sexually transmitted diseases from unsafe sex, which occurs more often among binge drinkers. Alcohol overdose can occur when a student drinks so much alcohol that it reaches the brain and slows automatic body functions, such as breathing. "College Drinking: Changing the Culture" warns that overdosing can lead to hospitalization or death. Death can also occur through passing out, vomiting while unconscious, choking on the vomit and then dying of asphyxiation.
Several signs indicate that a student's drinking has become a problem. Binge drinking -- four drinks for a girl or five drinks for a guy -- always poses serious health and practical risks. The frequency of binge drinking also indicates the severity of a student's alcohol problem, states the "New York Times"; binging more than once a week demonstrates a significant drinking problem. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism -- for example, drinking to calm stress or to feel happy -- displays an alcohol problem, despite the amount or frequency, reports ERIC Digests. This behavior shows an underlying emotional problem.