The social and economic characteristics of adult students enrolled in postsecondary schools (collegiate and noncollegiate) in spring 1976 are examined, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1976 Survey of Income and Education. For students who were dependents, information is presented on their families. Findings include the following: adult students (25 years old and older) accounted for 41 percent of the total college enrollment in 1976; of the 5 million adult students in college, 3.6 million were attending part time; most adult students were between 25-35 years old, but the 35-year-old and over group constituted one-third of the adult collegiate enrollment; 42 percent of adult undergraduate students were female; fewer than 1 in 10 adult college students were still financially dependent on their parents; larger proportions of adult dependent college students were in the lower income categories compared to all dependent college students; nearly a third of all adults who were enrolled in postsecondary schools were enrolled in noncollegiate schools; among noncollegiate adult students, 80 percent were high school graduates and 20 percent were not; larger proportions of adult dependent noncollegiate students were in the lower income categories compared to all dependent noncollegiate students; and smaller proportions of adult independent noncollegiate students were in the two lowest income categories compared to the proportions of all independent noncollegiate students. (SW)