What's interesting is that I had a very similar experience as a white male (first to go to college out of my siblings/family), and got a 0.4 the first semester.
Things seemed easy in high school, so I thought I knew what I was doing, until I realized that University is serious business academically.
With friends failing out right and left, I forced myself to attend paid tutoring sessions (worth it) and meet others who had study groups.
In the end, it worked out after years of making up for that one mistaken semester, but I had to buckle down on my own because of the fear of telling my parents how bad I performed...
Universities should weigh the first semester less and cap the number of hours taken. I know plenty of people who fucked up their first semester due to culture shock/feelings of isolation.
Things seemed easy in high school, so I thought I knew what I was doing, until I realized that University is serious business academically.
With friends failing out right and left, I forced myself to attend paid tutoring sessions (worth it) and meet others who had study groups.
In the end, it worked out after years of making up for that one mistaken semester, but I had to buckle down on my own because of the fear of telling my parents how bad I performed...