It is known that oral speech is nowadays the most dynamic and variable segment of the language system. The incessant changes in accent norms and their dynamics largely determine the relevance of this study. The preference issues of both the choice of the accent pattern in a particular word and the use of certain lexical units in speech by the modern youth are also relevant. This article addresses the issues of accentuation in a number of nouns that have accentuation variants. The purpose of the work is to describe accentuation in the lexemes under consideration according to modern orthoepic dictionaries, correlate the obtained results with the data of previously published orthoepic dictionaries, and also reveal preferences in accentuation in these lexemes among Russian students of two technical universities in Ivanovo - Ivanovo State University of Chemistry and Technology and Ivanovo State Polytechnic University. An attempt to establish appropriate correlations between normative and conventional implementations of accent models of the specified group of lexical units was made. Basing on the study, the authors conclude that there was no single variant of stress in the control group of lexemes. It was found that, despite the possible variation provided by lexicographic orthoepic sources, modern students prefer to use only one variant of word stress in oral speech. Thus, a significant divergence was revealed between normative and conventional realizations of accent patterns of nouns.