A model designed to explain variations in the use of alcohol among undergraduates draws together three categories of variables: (1) sociocultural-race, sex, and population of student's hometown; (2) familial characteristics-father's occupation, parents' marital status, and closeness to a problem drinker; and (3) the onset of student drinking-age at first drinking and extent of drinking at its onset. A 10% random sample was drawn from the undergraduate students enrolled in two state-supported universities in the southeastern U.S. The present analysis focuses on 856 nonmarried, full-time undergraduate students. Overall, the findings show that race, degree of closeness to a problem-drinker, age at the onset of drinking, and its extent markedly influence the level of alcohol consumption among undergraduates. The strongest overall predictor of undergraduate drinking is the extent of adolescent consumption.