The author analyses the challenges and trends shaping attitudes of university students to learning. The mainfocus is on - a dialectical relationship between the learning environment of the university as a necessary condition for the studies, and their attitude towards learning. A prerequisite for studying the problem is to analyse the student's (a man of a certain age), a performer of a particular social role . The author investigates the student's identity a set of criteria - biological, psychological and social. The author focuses on two main, interrelated factors that shape social - psychological profile of the student and determine the success of girls in a high school. These factors are as follows: personal values and life orientation, attitudes towards learning, understanding of their chosen profession, awareness of the ongoing processes at the university. On the other hand, the author analyses the quality and features of the learning environment of the university - teaching process organization and interaction among the students and a teacher, the level of teaching quality. The author discusses the relationship of forming the positions of the student as a complex phenomenon, which determines the quality of life of the individual in various fields, with the process of adapting the learning environment for the students of the university. The author also focuses on the level of satisfaction with the quality of the learning environment by a student of the university, the physical and psychological components of the environment as a prerequisite for the formation of a constructive position. The author examines the personal and behavioural characteristics of students connected both with the choice of the profile of their chosen specialty - technical or humanities, and the specifics of a particular study course. The author discusses some of the classification of students towards their studies, as well as all types of activities, including the activities in the learning process. Finally, the author formulates a number of conclusions as a basis for developing practical recommendations to improve the learning environment at the universities.