The article touches upon important issues related to measuring the index of the regulatory-adaptive status and adaptive capabilities of students to the educational load in a higher educational institution. Regulatory-adaptive status was determined by the level of students' anxiety. The Spielberg-Khanin technique served as a tool that made it possible to measure the level of situational (reactive) and personal anxiety; measurements of the anxiety level of university students were made at the beginning and at the end of the academic year. According to the results of the study, at the end of the academic year, there was recorded a significant decrease in the regulatory-adaptive abilities of students to the educational load, which contributed to an increase in the level of anxiety, as well as to the redistribution of students in groups according to the level of anxiety: the number of students in the group with a high level of personal anxiety increased, and with moderate level of anxiety - decreased.