At any given time, 22 to 30 percent of college undergraduates are in the first twelve months of grieving the death of a family member or friend. This conclusion, startling to some but accepted by others, comes from a variety of sources at academic sites in the United States and Europe. Information about the prevalence rate resulted from clinical observations and anecdotal reflections, and from empirical studies using convenience samples. No carefully designed study using random sampling has examined bereavement's prevalence among college students, but conviction that the 22 to 30 percent figure is correct is growing. Some researchers have begun examining the effects of college student bereavements, effects that unfold as bereavement extends from the first twelve months. In this article, the author examines the formal and informal bases for beliefs in the 22 to 30 percent prevalence rate and considers what empirical studies have uncovered about manifestations of bereavement in the lives of college students. He concludes by posing the question "What relevance, if any, does this information have for universities and colleges?" and offers some initial answers.