The results that we present are based on a three years research. (1) We try to analyze, among other aspects, what the students with the best grades to access to University do which can explain its academic achievement, in order to concrete effective operational models that can be generalized and taught, as far as possible. In order to do it we are analyzing the learning ways of several groups of 1^st year students with the best grades when accessing at University. Students are from different degrees and belong to the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Their results will be compared to other students’ results with average grades of the same degrees. In order to obtain it, we are assessing their learning strategies, their learning approaches, their styles, their attitudes towards learning and other relevant variables (self-concept, IQ, the perception of their teachers and their classmates, the integration at University, the assessment of their professors, etc). In this research, started in 2010, we will do a monitoring of students’ progress for their first two years of permanence at University, by taking several measures to collect data throughout the whole period of investigation.

We want to state the possible existing differences in the learning attitudes between the two groups of students (excellent and average) using the initial data collected. We also want to state the influence of attitudes on academic achievement. These are the results that we present in this paper.

Concerning the theoretical founding, we want to point out that, in the present research, we start from a conception of attitude as a tendency or learned predisposition and relatively enduring trend to evaluate, in a certain way, an object, person, group, event or situation, from the available beliefs about them.

This predisposition leads to act, favorably or unfavorably, toward that object, person, group, event or situation, in a consistent way with this assessment (Escámez, Garcia, Perez, and Llopis, 2007, Fishbein and Ajzen, 1980, Garcia and Sales, 1997). The variables that condition the learning ways of University students and their academic achievement are numerous and they constitute an intricate network in which it turns out very complex to weigh the specific influence of each one.  But it’s true that attitudes are a key variable that influences the way of learning and the achievement of students. In fact, there are some researches that reflect the existing relationship between attitudes and academic achievement of University students (Gargallo, Perez, Serra, Sanchez, and Ros, 2007, Goolsby et al, 1988; Herrero, Nieto, Rodriguez and Sanchez, 1999; House and Prion 1998).

We do not have data on the subject in scientific Literature contextualised in excellent and average students, reason why we think that we can make a significant contribution.

(1) It is the "Longitudinal approach: an analysis of the influential factors that enabled some University students to achieve excellent grades. Design of an intervention’s model" research, approved by the Spanish Education and Science’ Ministry into the National Basic Research Program, 2009 (2010-2012) (Financing Plan E, PGE), directed by Professor Ph.D. Bernardo Gargallo (code EDU2009/08518).

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