A cross-cultural study of the adaptation of students enrolled in a non-resident or foreign university was conducted. The subject of study was the adaptation of students to new living conditions. The study involved 2 groups of respondents (N=40; age 17-24): first-year students from other cities of Russia and foreign exchange students who moved to St. Petersburg (G1) and students of the University of Salzburg (Austria) (G2 ). The study included two stages. Stage 1: a semi-structured interview aimed at identifying the psychological state of respondents after moving to another place of residence and psychological research using psycho-diagnostic methods (questionnaire of the socio-psychological adaptation of C. Rogers and R. Diamond, methods of “Motivation of achievement” and “Motivation for avoiding failures” T. Ehlers, risk inclination methodology by A. M. Schubert,). Stage 2: an interview revealing the psychological state of the subjects after 6-8 months. The results of the study showed that respondents from G