Thank you for that post, a little late but I wanted to make a comment because it gave me chills. Your story is incredibly similar to mine. The age starting, the pattern of use, being able to keep up with work and a good schoool, similar gpa and such. I totally hid my drinking from everybody, at least in terms of frequency. When I turned 21, I always had access to alcohol and drugs before, but I was scared. So I asked for help for the first time within a week of my 21st birthday and I got some good advice about AA and stuff but I wasn't ready. I made it a week or two sober and then went back to my old behavior once I started feeling better about myself. I ended up having an alcohol induced nervous breakdown prior to my senior year in college. I spent the next two years drunk doing nothing. And now at 24 I have sobriety and it is sticking. Please take the oppurtunity to work on this now, you sound like you have a really good handle on your problem and it is really up to you. I know the feeling of wanting sobriety but unsure of how to do it. AA is a good place to start, even if you don't like it, it does help. Good luck and thanks again.