Aims: The research conducted and described in this dissertation aimed to provide answers to the questions why some nursing students are more successful in their education, i.e. what factors influence the achieved grade point average and a student's timely progression to the third year of undergraduate nusing studyes, and which factors influence the desire of fifth year secondary nursing school students and third-year undergraduate nursing students to continue their nursing education. Methods: We conducted two studies. The cross-sectional study addressed the predictors of success and desire to continue education among secondary health school students. The study on the predictors of success and desire to continue education of undergraduate and graduate students was a combined cross-sectional study and a nested follow-up study, where we followed students from the first year to the third year of undergraduate nursing studies in Split and Zagreb. Results: Performance self-efficacy and positive orientation towards the future predicted student success, while performance self-efficacy and extrinsic motivation predicted the desire of secondary nursing school students to continue their education at the undergraduate level. Although we did not reveal a single factor that predicted the success and desire of undergraduate and graduate students to continue their education, students at higher years and study levels had a more positive attitude towards science and a more positive orientation towards the future. A nested follow-up study demonstrated that third-year students' attitudes toward science, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and future orientation significantly increased, and their feelings of personal incompetence decreased. Conclusion: Policy makers and teaching staff should take our findings into account and help young people who want to pursue a career in nursing. Concrete actions could include involving them in projects and bringinf research work closer to them, introducing them to the nursing profession, giving them realistic information about the profession and opportunities for advancement in nursing, as well as motivating and supporting them to persevere in their goals.