The present study examines whether mothers’ alcohol use, perceptions of their son’s/daughter’s drinking and consequences, and permissiveness of drinking during freshman year (T1) predict permissiveness during sophomore year (T2). Mothers of students attending three universities participated in a longitudinal study (N=1368). Their behaviors and perceptions at T1 predicted T2 permissiveness (all p’s<0.05), suggesting interventions to reduce maternal permissiveness of college student drinking should ideally occur prior to the first year of college.