2.  The Odds of Injury
There's a clear correlation between drinking and violence. It's estimated that each year, close to 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are injured under the influence of alcohol; about 1,700 college students will die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including car crashes. Binge drinking, which means four or more drinks at one occasion for women, dramatically increases the chances that college-age women will be victims of an attack or date rape. 

In a study published in the June 2008 issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, scientists from the University of Buffalo found that the odds of 18- and 19-year-old college women experiencing sexual aggression was 19 times greater when they binge drank than when they didn't drink. Other risk factors included being a new drinker and increasing weekly drinking.

The researchers followed 179 women who entered the university in the fall of 2004 for eight weeks. They found that 66 percent reported drinking alcohol during that period; 62 percent of those who drank said they had been drinking heavily (on average, seven drinks). "It's heavy drinking that's the key here," says Kathleen Parks, the study's principal investigator and a senior research scientist at the university Research Institute on Addictions. "When a young woman goes out and drinks to the point of intoxication, she's not going to be aware of what's going on around her."

3. A Lifelong Hangover
Drinking heavily at a young age makes it more likely that a woman will develop an alcohol abuse problem when she is older. Other long-term consequences for women who drink heavily in college can be severe. These are the years when your body is still building bone; drinking too much as a young adult puts women at later risk for osteoporosis, a disorder characterized by fragile bones. Heavy drinking also makes them more vulnerable to breast cancer and heart disease and can lead to irregular periods, early menopause and infertility.

4. The Truth About Peer Pressure
Peer pressure is often cited as the reason why college students drink, but a number of recent studies have shown that young people frequently overestimate the number of heavy drinkers on their campuses. When schools make an extra effort to publicize the accurate figures, problem drinking declines. Here's another way to look at it. Even if half of all students say they drink heavily on weekends, there's another half who don't. Many colleges also have opened alcohol-free dorms, and some campus groups advertise alcohol-free parties. These can be especially important for girls who enter college without much experience in drinking.

5. Why She Needs a Family Lifeline
Even after she's installed in her dorm, you should keep in touch. The first six weeks are a crucial time for college freshmen. That's when they experience the most acute loneliness and adjustment problems. If your daughter can make it through that period without escaping into alcohol, she is headed in the right direction. If you're concerned about what you're hearing in e-mails or phone calls, try to attend parents' weekend, where you can get a better sense of how she is doing by meeting her roommates and friends.