While there has been a significant amount of work involving marketing education, it is unclear as to which demographic and psychographic characteristics of marketing majors drive their behavior toward academic performance (AP). The core premise of this study is that a set of students' demographic and psychographic characteristics underlie marketing majors' behavior toward academic learning, and this could be explained through the lens of self-determination theory. The study relied on quantitative data gleaned through structured questionnaires, from marketing majors in higher education in a developing country context. The findings affirm that student motives, thoughts and perspectives, expectations, and 'preparedness,' are highly significant situational factors that explain the variation in overall marketing students' AP. In addition, the income level of parents was significant in explaining AP. The authors envisage that the findings will help researchers to direct their studies toward experiential and emotional learning in other contexts, and thereby provide insights into other situational factors that predict marketing students' AP. Moreover, the findings highlight key situational factors that will help educators to adapt pedagogical practices in marketing education to enhance AP, in context.