Some findings about attrition from two- and four-year colleges and universities based on the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) are presented. Attrition is defined as withdrawal from college without completing a degree. After 2 years, the four-year institutions had lost 23.5 percent of their entrants. More two-year college students, 39.3 percent, withdrew without completing a degree. Private schools and schools with higher than average admissions test scores had lower attrition rates. The majority of students who left college did so for nonacademic reasons; those who worked full time withdrew at nearly double the rate of those with a part-time job or no job at all. Black and Hispanic students withdrew somewhat more frequently than white students, but in 4-year institutions there were no differences in attrition when adjustments were made for socioeconomic background. (Author/MV)