In February and March 2006, the St. Petersburg Humanities University of Trade Unions and the Social Information Agency conducted a survey titled "The Life Plans and Value Orientations of Upper-Grade Students in St. Petersburg," directed by A.S. Zapesotskii and R.S. Mogilevskii. The purpose was to determine and analyze the dynamics of the values and professional orientations of upper-grade students and the influence of social and demographic indicators. Some of the data obtained indicates quite serious changes in consciousness, which should be taken into account in education reform and in forecasting macrosocial tendencies of the near and more distant future. The survey showed that "the prestige of higher education is extraordinarily high." Although just over half of the parents (54 percent of the fathers and 53 percent of the mothers) have a higher education, 85 percent of the tenth- and eleventh-graders firmly intend to continue their education in an institution of higher learning. In this article, the author provides his analyses and hypotheses on the findings of this particular study. (Contains 1 figure and 4 notes.)