LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Those are the results of a new survey of almost 14,000 college students. Time spent drinking was second only to time spent studying outside of class as the most reliable predictor of a student's GPA, the survey found.

As reported in The Daily Beast, the study included about 13,900 incoming freshman at 167 colleges, presented at the American College Personnel Association conference by Todd Wyatt of George Mason University.

However -- when drinking was followed along by other activities such as volunteering or other extracurricular activity, the researchers found fewer negative consequences, usually missing class or work or failing assignments, compared with classmates who drank but didn't participate in outside activities.

The researchers were surprised to find that unlike drinking, spending time online on social networking sites such as Facebook had little effect on grades.

On a far more serious note, it has been found that:

-- At least 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.

 -- At least 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol.

-- There have been 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

-- And 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

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