College is definitely about getting an education. But let’s be honest. It’s also about the college party. Let’s call it an education in fun.

So here’s some key terms you need to know to be the life of the party:

Keggers: Kegs are a college party staple. One keg holds about 6.88 cases (a 24 pack of beer). Basically the cheapest way to buy serious amounts of beer. To boot, you use plastic cups which are a lot easier (and safer) to clean up than broken beer bottles.

Keg Stand: Two friends suspend you by your ankles over a keg, and you guzzle as much cheap beer as quickly as you can. Onlookers generally count out loud the number of seconds the person drinks for before having to stop.

Beer Pong: An infamous college drinking game. Players throw a ping pong across the table and try to land the ball in one of several cups of beer on the other end. If you get the ball in the beer, your opponent chugs. An attempt to add a little exercise to your drinking.

Flip Cup: Two teams stand on both sides of a table, facing one another. Each team mate has a cup of beer that he has to down as quickly as possible and then you have to flip the cup upside down. Only after the first team mate is done flipping the cup successfully can the next person drink. Whichever team finishes first is the winner.

Frat Parties: This is how the Greeks party. This is where you hear about toga and themed parties and definitely a place where you will see a kegger (or two!)

Hangovers: Something you will definitely feel the next day after a night of college partying. May include: feeling dizzy, nausea, vomitting, embarrassment of what you said or did–or who you texted the night before. Best remedy: Sleep and apology phone-calls.

While we are all for having fun at college, make sure to stay safe. Don’t drink if you have an early morning class. Try to limit college parties to the weekend.  But more importantly, if you are going to drink, drink responsibly.  A college party is supposed to be fun, not make you sick.

With summer vacation right around the corner, we’ve all got party on the brain.

So we thought we’d write about college parties. They are after all the ultimate party, according to hundreds if not thousands of films and TV shows.

College parties vary from school to school. They range from crowded dorm rooms, to frat houses with keggers, to huge outdoor blow outs. Some have themes like toga or costume parties. Some are crazy dance parties. Others are more like chill hangouts with a few people sitting around, listening to music and drinking beer.

A college student, at UCLA, named Megan Holmes decided to take college partying to the next level. She decided to study it. For her PhD research, she went to 66 different kinds of college parties to see what was really going on. 

And this is what she found out:

Themed-parties are the most dangerous.

One shocking finding is that at themed-parties, girls tend to out-drink boys and drink way more alcohol than at non-themed parties.  This trend has something to do with the girls not being fully-clothed. In fact, wearing only bras and panties or lingerie is very common at themed parties. One researcher said “they have to drink more if they wear less because they have to lower their inhibitions to be seen wearing that out.”

College kids at smaller parties tend to drink more.

This could have something to do with the fact that there is more alcohol per person–so people get more drunk.

Not all parties are created equal.

Of course, not all parties are out of control. Some are more chill. Friends hanging out, having dinner or watching the football game.

Raise the roof.

College house parties tend to have more college drinking games which causes people to drink more than they normally would.  These parties can put students at risk. At best, a serious hangover for your 8 am class, at worse alcohol poisoning and even death. 

There are also more drugs at house parties. Risks become more dangerous if you mix drugs and alcohol.

This gives new meaning to the expression “So, what’s your poison?” 

The research has been published in full in the journal: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.