Honestly. Sorry for your current predicament. Why not go back to the UK and have a fresh start. I spent some time at the university of Nottingham and it was one of the best times of my life.
Starting over in USA or in community college isn’t an easy path.
Some may allow grade replacement for the purpose of computing the GPA at the college (for purpose of determining whether the student is in good academic standing) after repeating a course where an F grade was earned the first time, although the original F grade will remain on the record.
If the OP’s college has such a grade replacement policy, it would be a good idea for the OP, if s/he stays, to repeat as many of the F courses whose grades can be replaced, since that will make it more likely to bring the GPA over 2.0. Otherwise, if either there is no grade replacement policy, or the OP takes all different courses, the OP needs to earn all A grades to bring the GPA to 2.0.
** A) You must determine why you failed. **
Did you think “I don’t need to put much effort into this because I will be transferring?”
Did you not know how the US University system works?
Were you not prepared for the classes?
Did you not attend classes?
Did you not complete assignments?
Did you complete them but then get bad grades?
Did you get a tutor?
Did you talk to the professor about what is going wrong?
If you got a bad grade on a test, did you do anything differently later?
** B) Generally you would be put on academic probation if you failed the first semester. If you do not change things you will fail the second and will be academically dismissed.
Here are ideas on what you can do differently.**
So to do well, consider the following:
GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
** C) Figure out how US Colleges work**
As you may not be used to how US colleges work, go to your professor during their office hours and say "I am new to the US education system. So I don’t know what I don’t know…can you go over expectations with me?
Also see if they have a Writing Center or a Study Skills Center at your Uni and talk to them.
** D) Figure out how to deal with bad roommates**
Your dorm has a Resident Assistant (RA) who is a student who is supposed to help you with issues you have with your roommate. You should have talked to them.
If they are not helpful, you should have gone to the Resident Life office and talked to them about moving.
** E) Figure out how to get support at college **
With a death in the family, it would have been good to talk to the Dean of Students and the Counseling Center. The Counseling Center could help you with grief, depression, or dealing with bullies.
The Dean of Students could help you with deciding what to do:
Should you withdraw from courses?
Could they talk to your professors about giving you extra time on assignments?
** F) Figure out if you have any other mental health issues **
Your freshman semester sounds exactly like my nieces…complete with roommate bully. Turns out she has Social Anxiety disorder which contributed to her not reaching out for help.
**G) In conclusion **
If you go back, then talk to your academic adviser. Ask them what to do about the failed courses.
Also tell them about your problems, but that you have learned about some of the resources you have to get help (Counseling Center, RAs, Tutors, professor office hours, etc)
Don’t think about Transferring. Think about doing the best you can at THIS school
Right now you are not showing anyone that you could succeed at UCLA or grad school.
You must show you can succeed at this college. Make friends at this college.
If you do better, then later you can explain what happened but that you learned and have over come it.