I think coming of age means becoming mature and able to interact as an adult in society. It's a gradual process; you don't become an adult overnight. One day, you may come to the realization that you are now an adult, but it is the product of years of development and may come earlier for some than for others.
In American culture, we tend to measure coming of age by a person's literal age. 16, 18, 21, they're all considered milestone ages in a young person's life. At 16 you can drive. I'm 16 and I don't have my license. I also don't think I've come of age, though I don't think that getting my driver's license will suddenly turn me into an adult. At age 18, you become a legal adult, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're mature. Even by 21, a person may still rely on their parents for support and guidance.
Education is another way we often attempt to measure maturity. Graduating from high school can mean moving on in life, as can graduating from college. Though these are pivotal moments in one's life, I believe that they can happen without a person having come of age.
I don't think maturity is dependent on age. A person's life experiences shape the mind and affect the way that person thinks. A person who has gone through many trials and hardships will mature much faster than someone of the same age who has led a fairly easy life, because hardship forces people to face the "real world."
Gaining experience in various worldly matters is how a person comes of age, and you never stop gaining experience, so I think coming of age is a never-ending process.
I agree that a person's level of maturity is not determined solely by their age or level of education. However, while (almost all) people continue to learn and experience new things throughout their lives, I think that there is a point after which a person stops experiencing as many new things. Most adults are able to navigate the world reasonably well -- they know about most things that they will encounter in daily life. Getting to this point is important, as you allude to at the start of the post. On the other hand, viewing coming of age as continuing indefinitely is an interesting idea which encourages exploration and possibly (to be clichéd) a positive outlook on life.
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