At least at the school I went to, we had to take at least 12 credit hours to be a full-time student (which could be as little as 12 class hours a week, but for some majors it might mean a whole lot more). Now, to graduate in a reasonable time period, one really had to take more than that. Plus, for each credit hour we were expected to study/work 3 hours at home. Granted, sometimes it was less, but sometimes it was more. All in all, though, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that most full-time students who wanted to maintain a decent grade were spending over 40 hours a week on school.

Now, that’s reasonable alone. However, most people I know/knew in college had to work to support themselves. Even with full scholarships (which most people do not get), it still costs to live. Many people I knew were going to school and working a full time job, or two part time jobs (since scheduling could be an issue for a full-time position). And most of those jobs were barely minimum wage.

A few of my friends had to study, work one or two jobs, and support children as single parents. They weren’t in the majority, but there are definitely a lot of students like them.

Maybe it’s different elsewhere, but I think it’s rather offensive to say: “Most college students use this time to drink, socialize, or play ultimate Frisbee, but that doesn’t have to be you.” Trust me, there’s a reason why college students are known for drinking, and it’s not because of all their free time. In my experience, “some” yes, “most” no — unless you have some stats to prove it.