A profile is presented of the social and economic characteristics of black students, 16 years old and over, enrolled in college or a noncollegiate postsecondary institution, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1976 Survey of Income and Education. After a reviewing of characteristics of the black population in the United States in the mid-1970s, the characteristics of black college students and students in noncollegiate postsecondary schools (including adult basic education, Comprehensive Employment and Training Act programs, and vocational schools) are discussed, with attention directed to financially dependent and independent students. Postsecondary enrollment is also analyzed in relation to family size and the number of students enrolled per family. Findings include the following: in spring 1976, 1,233,000 blacks were enrolled in college; for the 18-24-year-old group, black high school graduates had lower college enrollment rates than all high school graduates; about 46 percent of black college students were 25 years old or over; 3.5 times as many black students who were dependent on parental support, and almost twice as many black independent students, lived in households below the poverty level compared to all students; a fifth of black dependent college students lived in families with incomes over $20,000; approximately two-thirds of all black noncollegiate students had not completed high school; a fourth of black dependent postsecondary students came from families whose head had 1 year or more of college; and similar proportions of black independent and all independent noncollegiate students worked. (SW)