The National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS) collected data from students, former students, parents, and institutions in order to determine how postsecondary student financial aid is targeted, received, and used. The survey, which focused on Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) recipients, was designed to address such basic questions as who received financial aid, how financial aid was distributed among different types of students and institutions, how much students borrowed to finance their education expenses, and what sources of support students used to pay for postsecondary education. The NPSAS-Student Loan Recipient Survey (SLRS) gathered information on education of respondents, loan received, employment history, and background characteristics such as sex, age, race, citizenship, residence, marital status, and current employment. A parent survey was also conducted, and data were collected on relationship to student, total number of children in family, how much respondents spent on clothing, food, and books and supplies for students, other loans taken out, when respondents started saving for their children's college expenses, and what type of savings accounts they used. The NPSAS-Student Loan Recipient Transcript Survey was designed to gather postsecondary school transcripts for the GSL recipients who were surveyed in the SLRS. The Transcript Survey utilized four levels of inquiry: student, transcript, term, and course. In order to update records on GSL recipients, postsecondary institutions attended by former loan recipients were surveyed. The survey contacted all types of institutions, including public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit two- and four-year institutions, along with schools offering only occupational programs of less than two years. Data were collected concerning financial aid award amounts, student characteristics, educational activities, programs of study elected by loan recipients, classes taken, and financial aid and registrar records.

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS) provides information on how postsecondary student financial aid is targeted, received, and used. A significant component of the NPSAS is the Student Loan Recipient Transcript Survey, which collected postsecondary-school transcripts for Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) recipients who were surveyed in the Student Loan Recipient Survey (SLRS, Part 4). This component provides the means to analyze basic policy issues such as relationships between educational activities and ability to cope with indebtedness, and the patterns of student loan repayment or default. The Transcript Survey data cover 11,847 students, 12,213 transcripts, and 1,412 schools and are organized into four categories, consisting of data at the student (Part 5), transcript (Part 7), term (Part 6), and course (Part 2) levels. At least one student-level and one transcript-level record exist for each sample member for whom a transcript was requested, even if the school in question reported that an individual had never attended or had withdrawn before establishing a formal record of attendance. Student-level data (Part 5) provide general information about the respondent's academic career. Each record is given a case ID code, allowing the merger of transcript data and other files, sampling weights, and data that summarize information found on transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended as well as selected items from Part 4, the Student Loan Recipient Survey data files. Transcript-level records (Part 7) contain data pertaining to the student's academic record at a single institution, including the school ID code, degree or other credentials conferred with accompanying dates, major and minor field(s) of study, and the student's cumulative grade-point average. Term records (Part 6) contain type of term (quarters, trimesters, and semesters), season of occurrence, start and end dates, grade-scale type, the number of courses corresponding to a given term, and a special flag indicating regular or transfer status for the term. Included in term type is a code that signifies credit earned via standardized tests and other life experience. Course-level data (Part 2) include records for every course reported on a transcript. The Student Loan Recipient Survey data (Part 4, Questionnaire Data) contain identifying information about the students such as sex, age, race, citizenship, residence, marital status, and current employment, as well as survey control data, a counter variable for the NPSAS transcripts, and weights. The Composite Data file (Part 1) contains information from the student transcript data in Part 5 and the student questionnaire data in Part 4. It also contains composite variables that combine information from the record abstract done at the institution and the student questionnaire. A Parent Survey (Part 3) was also conducted to collect data on the total number of children in the family, how much respondents spent on clothing, food, and books and supplies for their children, other loans taken out to pay for schooling, when the respondents started saving for their children's college expenses, and what type of savings programs they used.