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Introduction Among the factors influencing academic performance (AP), individual differences at the trait level such as personality and emotional competences (EC) have been found to play a critical role, similarly to state variables such as perceived stress (PS). Material and methods The aim of this study was to clarify whether the influence of personality (Big Five) and EC on AP (general point average) is direct and/or mediated via PS. 537 undergraduate students from a French university (112 male and 425 female, Mage = 19.84 years, SDage = 1.74 years, range = 18-30 years; first year: n = 293, 55%; second year: n = 162, 30%, third year: n = 82, 15%) filled out the test battery around three weeks before the final examination. Results Path analysis showed that AP was directly predicted by conscientiousness (+), neuroticism (+), extraversion (–) and perceived stress (–), while perceived stress was predicted by neuroticism (+) and by intrapersonal EC (–). Conclusions The results illustrate the robust influence of conscientiousness on AP, while EC was not found to influence AP directly, but indirectly via its effect on PS.