The article examines the education issues, which, as a social institution, forms the sociocultural self-determination of young people, contributes to the choice of a place in the system of social relations concerning the profession, family, moral norms, values. The purpose of the article is to consider the issues of institutionalization of education, which manifests itself in the progressive transformation of the value system of youth towards pragmatism. Based on a comparative analysis of the criteria for determining life success, life strategies and self-realization of students, it is proved that the social institution of education is a factor in the formation of the values of society, the spiritual sphere, and value components of the individual. The article provides a comparative analysis of the criteria for determining life success, life strategies and self-realization of youth. An attempt is made to prove that an essential component of training is the formation of stable skills of independent, creative activity of an individual, taking into account individual and social needs that contribute to the development of his social activity. The authors conclude that a feature of the consciousness of Russian youth is the formation of bipolar life strategies and value attitudes. In the minds of young people, success in life is associated with pragmatic interests, not social and collective ones.