You’ve worked hard for four years. You’ve taken your SATs and ACTs, gotten letters of recommendation, filled out countless applications, and been accepted to your dream college. And now you’re off to visit campus. Time to party, right?
Not so fast.
Many colleges invite admitted students to spend some time on campus during the summer before they enroll. It’s an opportunity to get to know the school, meet other students, and go through orientation. And some incoming students see their visit as a chance to get an early start on college parties, which often include underage drinking.
But according to a recent article in Business Insider, incoming students may find that choosing to indulge in a few beers during their visit could be the only choice they ever get to make at the school. Some colleges are opting to revoke the admission of students caught drinking during a visit. The article quotes one college administrator as saying, “When a student makes a decision to illegally consume alcohol or use illegal drugs … it calls into question the types of choices the student will make around substance use when they come to campus in the fall.”
Nearly every college and university has a written alcohol policy, so even schools that do not rescind a student’s admission may take other disciplinary actions, such as probation, fines, requiring participation in alcohol education classes, community service, or suspension or expulsion from on-campus housing.
So before your student heads off for a college visit this summer, take a few minutes to talk about the consequences and dangers of underage drinking. What may seem like their first quintessential college experience could prevent them from having any others.
