A study attempted to substantiate empirically whether changes occurred in the personality functioning of adult learners and traditional-age students during the first year of college. The Omnibus Personality Inventory and companion questionnaires were administered to randomly selected groups of students from two campuses of a midwestern state university in Fall, 1977, and Spring, 1978: 273 adult students (freshmen aged twenty-three or older) and 222 traditional-age freshmen. Usable responses represented 51% (40% male) and 44% (37% male) respectively. Group mean and individual true gain (change) analyses were used to document whether shifts in personality functioning took place and to identify college activities related to various shifts. Variables examined included reason for attending college, aspirations, co-curricular activities, grades, employment during school, relationship to parents, and marital status. Changes in personality functioning for traditional-age students seemed attenuated compared with the results of studies conducted during earlier decades. College attendance was associated with changes in personality functioning for both older and younger students, although changes did not occur in all students nor was the directionality of change consistent. Given the increasing heterogeneity of collge student populations, the use of group mean scores to assess personality functioning during the first year of college may no longer be defensible. (PV)