Daniel 1 shows what type of young men were taken to Babylon. We see what they studied. We find that Daniel and his fellow captives were quick studies. Based off of the orders of the King, Ashpenaz a chief official took the choicest young men were taken to Babylon as described in the Book of Daniel including Jehoiakim, the “sons of the royal family” and some “nobles”. The qualifications for the youth:
(1) No defect, good-looking
(2) Outwardly intelligent in every branch of wisdom
(3) Endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge
(4) Had an ability for serving in the king's court
If these qualifications were met then a secondary requirement was instituted in the form of what appears to be cultural and intellectual (and perhaps by attrition: spiritual) indoctrination.
(1) They were ordered to be taught the literature and language of...the Chaldeans.
(2) They were appointed a daily ration from the king's choice food and wine (which would’ve violated Israel eating restrictions)
(3) They were also appointed to be educated three years. At the end of which they were to enter the king's personal service.
These youth were going to be “erased” and reformatted to coin a computer phrase. All of the vestiges of Israelite life, culture and an intellect were going to be overridden by the Chaldean equivalents. They are even given Babylonian equivalents of their names: Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abed-nego) renaming I guess was an attempt to try to erase their individual identities mentally and spiritually. The names that are given are ironic because they are related to Babylonian gods or deities. Their Hebrew names were theophoric or associating themselves to the True God Yahweh. For example Daniel meant “God is my judge”, Belteshazzar meant “Bel’s prince. Bel or Marduk was one of Babylon’s primary deities.
What we see though in this group of exiled men is that they are willing to bend where the bending didn’t require spiritual compromise (give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s). When it did require disobedience to God, they steadfastly refused. Ashpenaz encounters a "bug" in the attempts to load these captives up with new information. He encounters an error message or an unexpected condition in the form of a refusal. “Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.” 
Because of this God granted favor and compassion in the sight of his captors. Daniel (and the others) ate vegetables instead of the food required by the king and looked healthier than those eating more robust food “at the end of ten days”. As for the quality of their groups studies the Scripture goes on to say that, “God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom. Daniel was even granted education and understanding in things that couldn’t be taught except by God: visions and dreams. In every matter pertaining to wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in his realm.
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