if your failing your first year at uni when you only need around 40% to get through i think you might want to re-think the pilot job.
a PPL is easy enough but when you get to ATPL level you need to work and work HARD to get through, if you cant get through uni then you will struggle. my ATPL's were more difficult than my third year in uni.
At the end of the day if you dont put the effort in when your training to be a pilot you could be putting yourself and other people at risk.
While I agree that putting in the graft is definitely required (and not just at ATPL level) I completely disagree that someone who doesn't pass university exams will struggle with the ATPLs, or a career as a pilot generally.
Academically, I don't think any of the ATPLs are too hard. The volume of material that must be learned is what makes them tough. Compared to my university exams, the ATPLs weren't too bad.