tzippi, All the fellows I know married around a good quarter century ago (your time fram), started dating much earlier – say at about 20 or 21 for the guys, and 18 or 19 for the girls. Not saying they all got married at that age – just started dating.
Seemed to work quite well. And didn’t hear all the talk about a shidduch crisis back then. In fact, it still works for those starting dating today at those younger ages.