College Selectivity and Later-Life Memory Function: Evidence From the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

Research has shown a consistent association between college completion and laterlife cognition. We extend this work by examining whether college selectivity-the achievement level required to gain admission to a college-is associated with memory functioning more than 50 years later. We analyze data from 10,317 participants in the 1957-2011 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to examine the relationship between college selectivity and later-life memory. Models control for childhood, midlife socioeconomic status, and later-life health and adjust for selection bias. Selective college attendance was associated with small benefits in memory at age of 72 even after accounting for socioeconomic status in both childhood and midlife and later-life health. The results of this study suggest that college selectivity may be an important component of the education-cognitive functioning relationship that has modest implications for intracohort differences in later-life cognition.