This article presents an exploratory structural model of the academic performance perceived by university students.Personal and institutional determinants are used to design the model and socioeconomic level to compare results between groups.The sample corresponds to 437 first-year students of UDP Civil Engineering.The analysis of the model was developed using SMARTPLS 3.0, which was shown to be valid and reliable.The comparison between groups is supported by multigroup analysis.The results show that self-concept significantly explains the perceived performance.Class perception and motivation also show significant effects on perceived performance.There are significant differences in the causal effects of high and low-income students.In addition, it was proved that the performance perceived by the student is a good predictor of the grade that the student will obtain at the end of the course.This model enables the institution to take direct actions to improve the performance of first-year university students.