This paper analyzes university students' academic performance between the periods before the COVID-19 pandemic and the period of the pandemic. Different scientific materials from the Scopus database are analyzed to recognize the possible factors that could alter school motivation and, consequently, the grade point average. The grades of students in eight subjects are also analyzed. The main results show that it is impossible to establish a single criterion to recognize the reasons that make young people lower their grades. In addition, it was observed that teaching methodologies are essential for improvements in the learning process.