A biannual survey of 1,200 full-time, four-year undergrads conducted in March found 73 percent choosing the iPod as the most popular item on campus, compared with 71 percent who chose drinking beer, Student Monitor, based in Ridgewood, N.J., said.
A year ago, the iPod was the favorite of 59 percent of the undergrads surveyed on 100 colleges, an indication of how Apple has managed to increase the use of its portable media player on campuses. The last time drinking beer wasn't king was 10 years ago, when it was dethroned by the Internet, Eric Weil, managing partner for the firm, said.
But beer's second-place status a decade ago didn't last long, and the iPod is also expected to drop quickly.
"The next semester went right back to beer again, and it's been No. 1 ever since," Weil said of the Internet. "To suggest this time that if you own Anheuser-Busch stock that you should sell it might be premature."