The article is devoted to the study of the economic foundations of educational success of university students. The concept of educational success can be considered from different perspectives: from the point of view of assessing the results of educational activities of students; in terms of preparing a student for the labor market and for the requirements of employers; from the point of view of the students themselves and their social perception of their own “successful” future; in terms of the economic success of the future student. The success of students may have economic reasons. One of them is the quality of the surrounding socio-economic environment in which an applicant prepares to become a student. The analysis showed that the higher the level of quality of life in the region, the more students enter the universities of the region on a contract basis. The author also proved that the higher the level of quality of life in the region, the higher the average Unified State Exam (USE) score for both budget and contract places. The author argues that the general level of the USE score entering the university affects the demand for contractual places at this university. The study also proved the fact that the educational level of applicants to universities does not affect their further educational success as students.