FROM: Options@Cal U RE: The connection between beer and GPA
Sent: 10/22/2013 10:08:29 AM To: Students, Faculty, Staff
It's National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week
Become Aware of the connection between
Alcohol and Academics
Alcohol use can result in missing class, doing poorly on tests or projects, disciplinary issues, or other problems. Research has also demonstrated that students who are high-risk drinkers spend less time studying, attend fewer classes, and interact less with faculty.
The following statistics show, on average, that students who drink the most alcohol receive the lowest grades:
● “A” students average 4.21 drinks per week
● “B” students average 6.03 drinks per week
● “C” students average 7.76 drinks per week
● “D” and “F” students average 9.97 drinks per week
Students who are out late partying often oversleep and miss classes. Someone who is hung over is more likely to sleep in or may be too sick to attend class. People who party several times a week can fall behind on their homework, projects, or papers causing a low GPA and may even drop out of school.
In a study conducted in 2008 by The Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health (CSCMH) at Penn State University, over 15,000 students from 66 campuses were surveyed about their high-risk drinking behaviors. High-risk drinking was defined as five or more drinks in a row for males, and four or more drinks in a row for females, in the past two weeks. The following data demonstrates the relationship between frequencies of high-risk drinking behaviors over a two-week period and grade point average (GPA):
● Students who did not partake in high-risk drinking = GPA of 3.19
● One episode of high-risk drinking = GPA of 3.11
● Two episodes of high-risk drinking = GPA of 3.06
● Three to five episodes of high-risk drinking = GPA of 3.04
● Six to nine episodes of high-risk drinking = GPA of 2.98
● Ten or more episodes of high-risk drinking = GPA of 2.95
Students participating in high-risk drinking not only negatively affected their academic performance but also caused their friends to be concerned. Of the students who engaged in three or more episodes of high-risk drinking in the two-week period, 41 percent admitted other people were worried about their behaviors.
