There are two dominant strains in the literature on academic performance, the attribution studies and the self-efficacy studies. The present study attempted to incorporate these two strains while examining the academic performance of engineering undergraduate students in India. Time management and perceived stress were included in the model to predict grade goals and academic performance. Two age groups were compared to assess the impact of developmental change on the predictors of academic performance. Two studies were conducted with 372 first year students and 232 third, fourth and fifth year students from the same engineering institute. Different predictors emerged for the two groups, reflective of developmental change. Self-efficacy emerged as an important predictor for the older students.