High-level information, from the website: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygrads/

“The National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG)—sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF)—provides data on the characteristics of the nation’s college graduates, with a focus on those in the science and engineering workforce. It samples individuals who are living in the United States during the survey reference week, have at least a bachelor’s degree, and are younger than 76. By surveying college graduates in all academic disciplines, the NSCG provides data useful in understanding the relationship between college education and career opportunities, as well as the relationship between degree field and occupation.”

Advantages:

• The individual is the unit of analysis, allowing for the control of variables like
  • What students study
  • The type of institution they attend (Carnegie classification)
  • Additional means of financial support for their education
  • Parents’ education levels
• Binned student loan amounts:
  • Amount used to finance undergraduate and graduate degrees
  • Amount left to repay
  • $0, $10K bins up to $90K, and $90K+
• 2013 and 2015 cohorts have individual-level reference ID (REFID), allowing for short longitudinal study

Disadvantages

• Only college graduates: does not include drop-outs