New follow up beginning in 2024! The NLS-72 study started in 1972. High school students from the senior class of 1972 across the nation—including you!—participated in this research project. They shared their school experiences, beliefs, and plans for the near and more distant future. Follow-up surveys were conducted in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1984, and 1986 as people entered the labor market, went on to college, served in the military, started families, and moved around the country. People like you who participated in these surveys helped the nation learn about how policies at work and at school intersect with people’s lives to help shape their opportunities, experiences, and a whole host of outcomes. Members of our research team will be reaching out to you with more information about participating in the next NLS-72 follow-up study in 2024!
We hope you will be joining us for this exciting new chapter by following the Next Steps below.
Next Steps
Step 1
Visit the “Confirm My Eligibility” page to confirm you are eligible to participate in the study and to update your information.
Step 2
Once we confirm your eligibility, a member of our study team will reach out to you to schedule your interview. You’ll be able to schedule the interview at a time of your choice that’s convenient for you.
Step 3
During the home interview, a trained interviewer will come to your home to complete a survey, including cognitive and physical measures. You’ll receive $150 for completing the home interview. You’ll also be asked to participate in some follow-up health measures like providing a blood sample.
Read Below To Learn More!
People who participated in NLS-72 are now in their late 60s and early 70s, a new and interesting phase of life. This next follow-up of NLS-72 students focuses—for the first time—on health and wellbeing. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in an in-person interview in which a trained interviewer will come to your home to conduct a survey, a short cognitive assessment showing how you think and remember things, and a variety of different health measures like height, weight, and blood pressure.
NLS-72 data have been used to describe the transition of young adults through postsecondary education into the workforce, and the data are a valuable resource for researchers and policymakers to inform decisions related to educational reform. After this next follow-up, researchers will be able to link these data to new biological measures that will provide key insights into healthy aging.
The 2024 wave of the NLS-72 study provides a unique opportunity to learn more about your important generation and to explore how education and early adult experiences affect people as they grow older. With grant funding from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Aging (1R01AG078533-01), researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (Chandra Muller), University of Wisconsin (Eric Grodsky), University of Minnesota (John Robert Warren), and Columbia University (Jennifer Manly and Adam Brickman) have contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to follow up with people in NLS-72. We hope that you will help us continue to inform America about the successes, challenges, and opportunities that your generation has experienced.
If you have questions about the confidentiality and privacy of your data, please visit the Privacy page and the Q&A page to learn more about the security measures in place to protect your privacy.