Ruby Granger #35 Hello, it's Flu-bee!

[Poguely]

Yeah this. I think its going to be very difficult for her. Especially if Oxford rejects her Masters application. I worked and did my Masters, but it was Masters by course work and the modules of the course work were very much in line with the field I work in. I think English lit is solely Masters by thesis. Not sure tho, I did my Masters in an Australian university.

Oxford in and of itself is a very different experience than any other university in the world, and not because it's so oh famous and elite, but because it is legitimately structured differently. It has extremely short terms (7 weeks) in which everything is crammed in. You have a set paper or test for every class, every single week, that contributes to your grade. And these aren't silly little papers -- you could literally have up to five 2000 word essays. Every. Single. Week. It is so intense that at undergraduate level students are actually not allowed to have a job during term time.

And even then, Ruby doesn't make it easy for herself. If her undergraduate is anything to judge by, she applies to the top, oversubscribed colleges who have the pick of the litter. If you don't have the strongest application but you really want to attend Oxford, you should apply to one of the smaller, more modern Oxford Colleges because your chances of admittance would improve tenfold. But of course Roobles didnt do that. She applied to Oriel College, one of the 'Hogwarts' colleges that everybody applies to, which she had next to no chance of getting offered one of the 12 English lit spots they have. Then to add insult to injury, messed up her interview so badly that they didn't even put her forward for consideration at another college.

She'll do the same thing this time. Instead of applying. Instead of applying to a lower performing college like Mansfield, or even a mid-tier college like Lincoln, she'll apply for something like Merton -- the Oxford of Oxford -- because in her own deluded mind only the best is worthy of her, then have a meltdown again when she doesn't get in.

 

[gossip_guy]

Her videography skills have improved a lot though. That doesn't mean that they're good, but do you remember the framings she used to choose in her old videos where she stands in front of that white wall in her room with the poster on it? Now at least the angles aren't tilted anymore and she doesn't show more of the wall than of herself in her videos

True, but I don't know how much of that was skill and effort and how much is just the nature of technology over time and her imitating other YouTubers after she dropped the Hermione imitation videos. She seems to have stopped with the stark bedroom wall backdrop around high school and has been making the exact same videos since.

Her videos look technically a bit better than when she first started, but probably just because she happened to buy new phones/cameras over time which did the work for her. But since then she's just making the same videos for years on end. All the same bad lighting, sloppy editing, recycled footage, weird shots, crappy composition, bad music and general stupidity, the only thing that's really changed is her health has steadily declined.

 

[Sarah33]

And even then, Ruby doesn't make it easy for herself. If her undergraduate is anything to judge by, she applies to the top, oversubscribed colleges who have the pick of the litter. If you don't have the strongest application but you really want to attend Oxford, you should apply to one of the smaller, more modern Oxford Colleges because your chances of admittance would improve tenfold. But of course Roobles didnt do that. She applied to Oriel College, one of the 'Hogwarts' colleges that everybody applies to, which she had next to no chance of getting offered one of the 12 English lit spots they have. Then to add insult to injury, messed up her interview so badly that they didn't even put her forward for consideration at another college.

She'll do the same thing this time. Instead of applying. Instead of applying to a lower performing college like Mansfield, or even a mid-tier college like Lincoln, she'll apply for something like Merton -- the Oxford of Oxford --

As an outsider I just assumed they were all the same - how are the Oxford colleges different? Is having an Oxford degree advantageous in the real world or academia or are other people not that bothered, it just seems such a lot to go through

 

[Griftwood]

True, but I don't know how much of that was skill and effort and how much is just the nature of technology over time and her imitating other YouTubers after she dropped the Hermione imitation videos. She seems to have stopped with the stark bedroom wall backdrop around high school and has been making the exact same videos since.

Her videos look technically a bit better than when she first started, but probably just because she happened to buy new phones/cameras over time which did the work for her. But since then she's just making the same videos for years on end. All the same bad lighting, sloppy editing, recycled footage, weird shots, crappy composition, bad music and general stupidity, the only thing that's really changed is her health has steadily declined.

I watched some of the oldest videos she still has up on her channel today (please don’t judge, I had a ton of knitting to catch up on and Netflix was far too brain-engaging) and can confirm the only thing she has now that she didn’t have 8 years ago is better equipment. She has several videos where the camera focuses on her Cath Kidston curtains (can you imagine how dusty and gross they must be by now?) and both her voiceover and the music sound like they’ve been filtered through a vat of mashed potatoes. The awkward cuts and audio craziness were there and they haven’t gotten any better or worse.

She wasn’t quite as much of a habitual liar back then, though, and I found that refreshing.

 

[Poguely]

As an outsider I just assumed they were all the same - how are the Oxford colleges different? Is having an Oxford degree advantageous in the real world or academia or are other people not that bothered, it just seems such a lot to go through

You said you were Australian? Think of the Oxford Colleges like different states. You're all Australian, but you all have your unique laws and cultures. That's like the Colleges. The University of Oxford is the national government, the colleges are the state goverment. When you apply to Oxford university, you apply to an individual college and you can only apply to one. Each college has a set number of places on each course (usually less than 20 a year per course) and there own selection criteria for picking who to fill them with. If during the application process the college you've applied to feels you're not a good culture fit for them, but may be a good fit at another college they will pass your application on for consideration, but that's it. If you pick the wrong college, you're essentially ducked and wasted £200.

It's important because if you get accepted you do almost everything in your college. Lectures are course wide, but besides that 95% of your time will be spent with the people in your college. Eating, sleeping, sports, clubs and socities. Financial support and scholarships. Tutorials. Student unions. Even bars and libraries are segregated by college. So if you're not a good culture and social fit for your college you are going to have a miserable time and probably make everybody else around you miserable too.

As for whether it's advantageous, it's seen as a positive because of the intense workload. To get a 1st at Oxford is impressive because it shows not only a strong work ethic, but also brilliant time management skills. Because the work at Oxford is no harder than any other course, it's just the amount of work you have to juggle in such little time that is the challenge that most students struggle with.

 

[vwxyz]

As an outsider I just assumed they were all the same - how are the Oxford colleges different? Is having an Oxford degree advantageous in the real world or academia or are other people not that bothered, it just seems such a lot to go through

A friend of mine has studied there and he said that with a degree earned there you have extreme advantages on the job market because employers will be very impressed with the prestige and league of that school. He also said (I think that was just about a short summer course they were offering, not about the actual degrees which he said are really challenging and intense) that depending on what course you choose, the overall level of the students isn't that high, but it's just super expensive, so you can also buy yourself the advantages it gives you.

 

[gisellejoly]

A friend of mine has studied there and he said that with a degree earned there you have extreme advantages on the job market because employers will be very impressed with the prestige and league of that school. He also said (I think that was just about a short summer course they were offering, not about the actual degrees which he said are really challenging and intense) that depending on what course you choose, the overall level of the students isn't that high, but it's just super expensive, so you can also buy yourself the advantages it gives you.

It’s not any more expensive than any other university in the UK. It’s the same price as every other uni, fees are 9k a year across the board. Some courses that are very niche might have a lower calibre of students solely because not many people apply to them, so people who have their heart set on oxford rather than on a specific subject will strategically apply to those niche subjects (like vee khativu randomly studying ancient history and archaeology despite having no apparent interest in it). But that has nothing to do with paying your way in..
If your friend just did a summer course there then that would offer no real benefit in the job market. Those courses are just money rackets for wealthy foreign students.

 

[Deeznutslol]

Anyone know when the deadline for submitting her masters application is? Also when will she find out?

 

[Sarah33]

You said you were Australian?

I’m English haha but thanks for the explanation, I asked because I went to a RG uni and have just looked now and lots of people high up in certain departments didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge and it hasn’t seemed to stop them from making it in academia. Am sure an oxbridge degree is advantageous in some ways but there are lots of other routes And unis that would be a better fit for many applicants including probably Ruby and wouldn’t stop anyone from carving out the life they want, it’s a shame she and others become so fixated on oxbridge and attach their identity to it in a way that is unhealthy. Lots of other unis are very picturesque and have great courses and give the dark academia vibe that seems to make studying more enjoyable for her, I know lots of successful people with degrees from other RG unis, it’s a shame people view getting into oxbridge as a be all and end all and an end in itself when life and careers are about sooooo much more. I think it would be so healthy for Ruby to get a different perspective on all this and I say this as someone similar to her in lots of ways when I was growing up

 

[heroesfeast]

Anyone know when the deadline for submitting her masters application is? Also when will she find out?

Applications for 2023/24 closed on 6 January. No idea when she will find out, though.

 

[DrinaM]

Anyone know when the deadline for submitting her masters application is? Also when will she find out?

Im pretty sure they're closed and she should know really soon.

I’m English haha but thanks for the explanation, I asked because I went to a RG uni and have just looked now and lots of people high up in certain departments didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge and it hasn’t seemed to stop them from making it in academia. Am sure an oxbridge degree is advantageous in some ways but there are lots of other routes And unis that would be a better fit for many applicants including probably Ruby and wouldn’t stop anyone from carving out the life they want, it’s a shame she and others become so fixated on oxbridge and attach their identity to it in a way that is unhealthy. Lots of other unis are very picturesque and have great courses and give the dark academia vibe that seems to make studying more enjoyable for her, I know lots of successful people with degrees from other RG unis, it’s a shame people view getting into oxbridge as a be all and end all and an end in itself when life and careers are about sooooo much more. I think it would be so healthy for Ruby to get a different perspective on all this and I say this as someone similar to her in lots of ways when I was growing up

I think @Poguely got your message confused with mine, because I mentioned that I did my Masters in Australia. I agree with you, it is a shame that people get so fixated on Oxbridge. Its even sadder when its someone like Ruby, who has clearly been told by others that she has a real chance at studying there, instead of helping her keep it real.

She lives her life, facing decisions with a 'what would Hermione do?' attitude. She isn't a good fit for Oxford clearly. Its an intensive study program, (not sure if Masters is as intense as undergrad as their intake % is slightly higher for Masters) and they probably only need to look at her socials to see her mindset, lifestyle, mental well-being etc.

 

[Auga]

Oxford in and of itself is a very different experience than any other university in the world, and not because it's so oh famous and elite, but because it is legitimately structured differently. It has extremely short terms (7 weeks) in which everything is crammed in. You have a set paper or test for every class, every single week, that contributes to your grade. And these aren't silly little papers -- you could literally have up to five 2000 word essays. Every. Single. Week.

Just to clarify, unless things have changed since I did my undergraduate at Oxford a few years ago for an arts subject, we didn't have set papers or tests that affected our grade. Absolutely everything hinged on our finals in third year, not the previous years.

I didn't know anyone who had five 2000 word essays. For my subject, it was about two 2000+ word essays a week, as well as a non-essay task. We also had eight weeks of term.

But you're right that that is very short and intense. Had Ruby been accepted for her undergrad, she would have struggled for many reasons, not the least her need to teach the material to herself via flashcard like we saw her do at Exeter for philosophy (I presume it carried on through English as well) and repeatedly drill herself on them so that she could recite memorized answers like Hermione/Matilda/Lisa. She would still be writing her flashcards when it would already be time to move onto the next topic.

She also would have treated each tutorial as a test to demonstrate her intelligence rather than as a learning experience. We saw her drafting and learning answers for her seminar participation, and it would have been so much worse had she been preparing for a tutorial. For her tutor, it would have been like trying to have a conversation with Quizlet.

This was also why she struggled at her Oxford interview, because her strategy was to learn a huge folder's worth of material to parrot off that she had been working on for years. It not only wasted her time but also undermined her ability to think on her feet, and probably caused her to panic when she realized nothing in that folder was going to help her.

It really was the best thing for Ruby's own mental health that she was rejected, and even though the lack of an interview for Oxford masters massively increases her chances, I'm far from convinced she's any readier than she was four years ago.

But you really want to attend Oxford, you should apply to one of the smaller, more modern Oxford Colleges because your chances of admittance would improve tenfold. But of course Roobles didnt do that. She applied to Oriel College, one of the 'Hogwarts' colleges that everybody applies to, which she had next to no chance of getting offered one of the 12 English lit spots they have.

I don't know if that is the best advice. I took the view that most people know about the numbers game, so if you apply to a smaller college, you might find a lot have done that too. In the end I picked the one I liked the most, which was even more Hogswarts-like than Ruby's choice. It paid off. Also, if the over-subscribed college still thinks you are "over the line" but doesn't have a space for you, you could still be pooled to one of the less popular ones. The pooling system is pretty mysterious but I've never heard pooling to be due to a culture-fit. But I do agree with you that not being pooled was a sign that Ruby wasn't even borderline for Oriel.

 

[MissGGG]

I don't know if that is the best advice. I took the view that most people know about the numbers game, so if you apply to a smaller college, you might find a lot have done that too. In the end I picked the one I liked the most, which was even more Hogswarts-like than Ruby's choice. It paid off. Also, if the over-subscribed college still thinks you are "over the line" but doesn't have a space for you, you could still be pooled to one of the less popular ones. The pooling system is pretty mysterious but I've never heard pooling to be due to a culture-fit. But I do agree with you that not being pooled was a sign that Ruby wasn't even borderline for Oriel.

Pooling isn't really a culture-fit thing. Colleges will have a fixed number of places (say, they cannot take more than 10 people in a particular subject) but if they have 15 candidates that they think can thrive at Oxford (which I guess is the most culture-fit they're really looking for), they'll take the "best" 10 and put the other 5 in the pool. Then a college that didn't have many applicants that year (or many "good" ones) might look in the pool and decide to extend an offer to them instead.

(Of course, these rankings of "good" and "best" are decided based on a limited snapshot of a student, so not being pooled/being pooled/getting an offer/not getting an offer definitely don't mean one student is better or worse than another, its just based on what the admissions team have seen and have decided they're looking for.)

Playing the numbers game is pretty meaningless. The number of applications to colleges can really vary from year to year, so an under-subscribed college might suddenly become super popular, a college that normally takes lots of students might suddenly not have the same capacity, etc. The idea of the pooling system means (in theory) you have the same chance of getting in to Oxford whichever college you apply to.

The reason Ruby didn't get in was because of what lots of people have said, she parrots her Quizlet cards and struggles to think independently. Oxford would have been looking for someone who can do more than memorise flashcards and I doubt she was able to demonstrate that in an interview when she's not shown it in a single video over all these years.

 

[Green Lion]

... Now I understand why it was so hard for her to eat that ahliv

 

[VallegGirl]

someone should Ruby send an electric lighter. They are really good and easy to use (but I doubt she can light a candle with that outside in the wind, too).

btw. I'm currently trying to edit a video. As you know, I'm applying for jobs at the moment and one application said that they want to have a video cover letter. I filmed myself with my iPhone and now I'm trying to cut the video because I made some mistakes while speaking. So I want to cut bits (I made sure to make pauses when I recognised my mistakes so I can cut and stich this together). I use Final Cut (I bought it for my father with my student discount and I never use it, but I thought the video cover letter would be a good thing to try video editing again. You know, for when I'm becoming a famous youtuber) and I feel a bit overwhelmed. I'm not bad at computer stuff, but cutting/editing a video is ... difficult?! I see why Ruby is so sloppy with her editing.

I can see why for someone like you who doesn't edit all the time it would be difficult but also it sounds like you're trying your absolute best to do a good job and to ensure you make your video anything but sloppy. Rubore on the other hand is making a shed load of cash and seems too 'bone' idle to bother to do a good job.

I wish you every success with your application. You sound so deserving of whatever role you've applied for. Good luck. I have my fingers crossed for you

 

[Whisper2Me]

I watched some of the oldest videos she still has up on her channel today (please don’t judge, I had a ton of knitting to catch up on and Netflix was far too brain-engaging) and can confirm the only thing she has now that she didn’t have 8 years ago is better equipment. She has several videos where the camera focuses on her Cath Kidston curtains (can you imagine how dusty and gross they must be by now?) and both her voiceover and the music sound like they’ve been filtered through a vat of mashed potatoes. The awkward cuts and audio craziness were there and they haven’t gotten any better or worse.

She wasn’t quite as much of a habitual liar back then, though, and I found that refreshing.

Occasionally I go back and watch her videos from way back or even the first year of uni. As a teenager, while she was odd and spoiled, I felt she had a more normal lifestyle. She seemed to know who she was. A student, a studytuber, associated with Hermoine Granger, head girl, hung out with some friends and cousins regularly. Quirky as she was and certain things done to an extreme, I didn't mind her so much. Okay, her family had money and her accent was fake. But she was a kid. She could get away with things, that back then could be seen as immaturity or childishness, that would eventually pass. But they didn't. I was excited to watch her grow up at uni and start adulting, but she never did. I waited, year after year, to see that transformation, but it never happened. No sponsorship, no travelling, no authorship will ever bring that to her. That comes from within. What once passed as odd or even eccentric is now uncomfortably abnormal. She isn't someone I would want to have near me. She isn't someone I would want near kids. Or anyone who is easily influenced by others. She has a toxicity to her. Her ED, her perfectionism, her fakeness, lies, pretending, all of it. It just creeps me out. Because if you don't break away from these tendencies, you can end up going down a dark road and taking others with you. This may sound cruel, but it is true. She will be more than the oddball out. I just get a lot of cringe from her now. And every week she seems to get worse. If she is in therapy, it doesn't seem to be helping much. No matter how many routines she does, books she reads (or pretends to read) or spins around the field, she just seems utterly lost and pointless.

 

[Poguely]

I’m English haha but thanks for the explanation, I asked because I went to a RG uni and have just looked now and lots of people high up in certain departments didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge and it hasn’t seemed to stop them from making it in academia. Am sure an oxbridge degree is advantageous in some ways but there are lots of other routes And unis that would be a better fit for many applicants including probably Ruby and wouldn’t stop anyone from carving out the life they want, it’s a shame she and others become so fixated on oxbridge and attach their identity to it in a way that is unhealthy. Lots of other unis are very picturesque and have great courses and give the dark academia vibe that seems to make studying more enjoyable for her, I know lots of successful people with degrees from other RG unis, it’s a shame people view getting into oxbridge as a be all and end all and an end in itself when life and careers are about sooooo much more. I think it would be so healthy for Ruby to get a different perspective on all this and I say this as someone similar to her in lots of ways when I was growing up

Ruby would absoloutely crumble under the college system. Firstly, the social aspect. You are absoloutely expected to participate in college life, which she would probably be too anxious to embrace, but also I can't imagine her having to write multiple 2k word essays every week and emerge from the experience mentally well. It would legit lead to her having a breakdown and having to drop out.

I'm a huge supporter of RG unis. And agree that pushing Oxbridge at any costs is unhealthy. Tue reality is that a lot of local school students in particular would be better suited to a strong RG uni. Not because they're not clever enough for Oxbridge, but simply because they haven't been trained for it the way many private school students have been. So rather than achieving a first at a good RG uni, they end up with 2nds that won't take them further simply because it had to be Oxbridge at any cost, and they weren't trained for Oxbridge learnibg.

 

[gossip_guy]

It really was the best thing for Ruby's own mental health that she was rejected, and even though the lack of an interview for Oxford masters massively increases her chances, I'm far from convinced she's any readier than she was four years ago.

Yeah, I don't think she learned anything from any rejection she's experienced, least of all the Oxford one. She hasn't developed her critical ability in any way following her Oxford interview duck-up and has no self-awareness, so I'm sure she still views that Oxford rejection as some kind of cruel mistake on their part.

Her getting a FARRST at AXATAR will have only emboldened her and inflated her ego, and she won't consider that she relied heavily on the work of others and a lenient grading curve that inflated scores. She'll think that final grade proves her worthy of Oxford and proves her right that they make a mistake not accepting her at undergrad.

If the recent video mentioning her Masters application is anything to go by, she's still incapable of explaining why she wants to go to Oxford other than the obvious 'gold trophy' elite status of it all. She still can't say why she wants to do a Masters, or what she'll get from it that she isn't already claiming she gets by "LARRNING FOR THE SYAKE OF LAAAHRNING" in her bedroom with her limitless free time and mountains of cash, resource and privilege.

In reality, she's never seemed committed or interested in actually learning anything beyond the need to avoid the real world in an academic bubble and keep her feet in academia to try to impress strangers with the illusion that she's intelligent and gifted.

It's going to be a Jack Edwards situation all over again; she'll try to wow them with a personal statement outlining her embellished accomplishments, vanity projects, a life of privilege and superficial interest in academia, and yet will be completely incapable of explaining "Why do you want to study English, why do you want to study at Masters level and why do you want to do it at Oxford?"

"Because oiy loff larrning for the sake of larrning and Oxford is the myost varry basst" is not gonna cut it and neither will parroted quotes from dead scholars. She might be able to fool schoolchildren into thinking she's a workaholic genius, but her unremarkable CV and transparent lack of genuine interest in academia isn't likely to endear her to Oxford admissions people reading her statement, especially if they look into who she is and what she does.

 

[StatusWoe]

For her tutor, it would have been like trying to have a conversation with Quizlet.

Haha that made me laugh but it's so true. She made a big mistake with her revision folders. A much better preparation would have been to choose a poem at random, give herself 5-10 mins to annotate it, answer questions from a teacher/parent, then research the poem to see if her points are supported by the info that's online. That way she'd get used to analysing new literature under timed conditions. Idk why she did it in such a rigid way.

 

[laynelo_]

These comments on her tiktok from a few days ago made me laugh