This article examines such issues as the formation of value-motivational guidelines for college-going youths. The value guidelines of a college student are a motivating factor which explains a certain direction, outlook on life and social activity. The authors pose a scientific issue, which boils down to a dissonance between the expectations and the reality which form in the minds of college-going youths during the process of their college education. Presented are the results of an empirical study conducted between October 20^th and December 30^th 2016 among those attending Belgorod province’s leading colleges. The results of the study allowed determining the leading motivational guidelines for college applicants when they enroll into a higher-educational facility, and for college students depending on the curriculum and gender differences. Analyzing the acquired data revealed that the core criteria for respondents when choosing a college are the availability of the desired specialty (64.60%), the college providing quality education (49.83%), and the college’s prestige (25.77%). The results also revealed that respondents valued the opinion of their inner circle (i.e. their parents), their desire to study together with friends and acquaintances, with a reasonable tuition fee also bearing considerable importance. Established was the fact that 66.83% of respondents who chose a state college considered the availability of their desired specialty to be important, while the same index for those choosing a commercial college equaled 59.04%. Students attending state colleges considered quality education to be important (55.29%), with the latter taking merely third place among students attending commercial colleges (36.14%). Depending on the curriculum, changes were revealed in such a motive as how prestigious the college is considered by provincial standards. 30.23% of freshmen find this important, while the same figure for those in their fourth year equals 22.77%: this indicates a shift in the vector of importance for college-going youths.

educational services, college-going youths, higher education, motives, labor market.

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