The furthest they have ever gone is first base.

Brittiany McCree and her boyfriend Michael T. Sanford II know their limits. The high school sweethearts from Detroit discovered during their freshman year at MSU while living in the dorms that you can't allow even one bit of temptation.

"You learn your limits when your parents aren't watching you," said McCree, an education senior. "When you come to college, it's like a whole different ball game."

The couple, whose decision is faith-based, are saving themselves for marriage.

An atypical practice

McCree and Sanford know choosing abstinence is not common among college students.

According to a spring 2006 study by the American College Health Association, 25 percent of MSU students surveyed were abstinent last year and 75 percent were sexually active. The association also reported in 2005, after surveying more than 54,000 students at 80 different universities nationwide, 74 percent of students were sexually active and 26 percent had no sexual partners.

Dennis Martell, health education services coordinator for Olin Health Center, said 25 percent of abstinent students are often overlooked.

"If you were to ask somebody on campus, 'What percentage of our students do you think are abstinent?' they would say, 'Two percent. Five percent.' So there is this big misconception about what people do when it comes to sex," Martell said.

Defining virginity

Martell said the way students define "virginity" is not always consistent.

"You might be a virgin by virtue of definition, in that you haven't had vaginal intercourse," Martell said. "Some people will say they are a virgin. By a virgin, they mean they haven't had vaginal intercourse or might have had anal or oral intercourse."

"But as far as passing or having STI (sexual transmitted infections), there are a lot of so-called virgins that have sexually transmitted infections because they engage in other things that don't necessarily have to pass fluids like HPV (human papillomavirus)," Martell said.

Worth the wait?

The possibility of contracting an STI is why criminal justice and psychology senior Matt Rajnish decided to remain abstinent.

"It's not that I'm waiting until marriage. I know of the risks — that's why I'm not ready," said Rajnish. "I'd rather wait for someone that it will matter with, rather than a random person."

Political science junior Tim Russell, 20, said there's also risk in saving yourself for marriage.

"I think that it's a beautiful thing — if you can wait that long," Russell said. "But the only downside to that is if you do wait until you get married and it's not everything it's cracked up to be ? it's like, why buy a pair of shoes without trying it on?

"You should at least try it once before you get married."

Sanford and McCree don't see it that way, though. They made rules to avoid temptation as soon as they set foot on campus in 2003.

Their restrictions are: No hanging out alone together past midnight, no staying all night at each other's places and trying to plan a lot of events to help keep their minds off sex.

"Like my grandmother would always tell me, 'If you give the devil an inch, he will take a mile,'" Sanford said. "So, like she was saying, we don't even allow that inch. We try not to; we try not let that inch show itself."

Some of the 75 percent who have lost their virginity sometimes find themselves regretting it.

"Girls tend to regret it more than guys," said Russell, who lost his virginity when he was 12. "I didn't regret it. I guess I know what I'm doing now."

Advertising senior Kelli Perry, 21, said she regretted having sex for the first time in high school. When she came to MSU as a freshman, she said she devoted herself fully to Christianity and became a "born-again" virgin.

"When I decided to give my life to the Lord, I realized that it was something I couldn't do anymore."

She spoke about her current relationship with her boyfriend: "It's difficult because when you love someone, you want to express yourself, but my love for God outweighs my love for him.

"That's what keeps me. It's like, I love you, but you don't have nothing on God."

Mechanical engineering junior Jenon Lipsey, 19, said he feels it is OK to have sex, though, as long as there is a commitment involved.

"I feel that's what God wants for me," Lipsey said. "If I at least have the intent of a long-term relationship, I feel that's what God wants for me."

The challenge

Choosing celibacy can be difficult for young adults, especially if they're already sexually active, said Bill Michell, a social worker and pastor at Covenant Fellowship in Okemos.

"I think that it's a very good thing if you can do it," he said. "There is a lot more pressure once one is sexually active."

Abstinence pledges can be hard to keep, especially at college with no parental supervision.

Both friends and family of McCree and Sanford find it hard to believe the couple has abstained from sex in their more than four-year relationship.

"They're like, 'You guys are lying,'" McCree said. "Sometimes our parents don't believe us. My grandma has gone as far as asking me if I want to be on birth control."

Sanford's father also gave him a box full of condoms.

But despite their families' disbelief, the couple remains committed to their principles and each other.

McCree says it's important to look to God, but it's also important to look within yourself.

"I would say know your own limits," she said. "You can't depend on anyone to set your limits for you. If you don't know how to love yourself, you can't appreciate being with somebody," Sanford said. "I know it sounds selfish in a sense — but it's not."

Yvette Lanier can be reached at lanieryv@msu.edu.