I agree. And i think it will be a good thing if she gets declined. She needs a bleeping huuuge wake-up call. Its the best thing Oxford can do for her, decline her application. She is losing her grip on reality. Being denied a place in the Oxford Masters program will force her to re-think what the hell she is doing with her life. Her identity is so wrapped up in being 'academic' and 'productive', its unhealthy.
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I mean she was already rejected once before. It just sent her into a existential crisis lol.
Yeah but after resigning herself to studying at Exeter, I feel like she has compartmentalised the trauma of the rejection lol. And has been living in denial ever since. Its amazing how nothing has changed. Still living in her childhood bedroom, in her single bed, mummy drives her places, mispronouncing words, pretending to read a hundred books a month etc
Yeah, I said before we should prepare ourselves that she's going to get accepted. The main reason is that they don't actually have to speak with Ruby, i.e. an interview, to make the decision. Trying to memorise her way into Oxford as an undergrad caused her to bomb the interview.
But provided they don't actually look into her background and watch any of her youtube videos (or read her ghastly novel), Ruby looks very good on paper. We know from her firsts at Exeter that even though she takes critical feedback extremely badly and seldom seems to accept it, when it comes to her academics she is both willing and able to "play the game" by implementing it. And she will have probably had someone look over her application to fix any problems, as well as learned from her previous applications. This is almost certainly her third attempt at getting into Oxford and her second attempt at getting in for her masters. She had it the applications on her to do list last year, and then we didn't hear anything until she said she was taking a gap year. Knowing how obsessed she is with Oxford, there's no way she didn't apply last year because that would be giving up a chance. As we've seen with Jack, there's only so many times she can keep reapplying. She'll have learned from Jack's mistakes too.
So she's applying with excellent marks; likely excellent references from those tutors who gave her firsts; an application that will have been carefully crafted, ruthlessly edited, and proofread (unlike her novels); and although it will matter less to Oxford tutors, claims to have run a successful youtube and stationery business. The trip to America was also likely with the application in mind.
The annoying thing is that she'll take this as vindication that the tutors made a mistake and didn't recognize her brilliance during the undergrad interviews, or just put it down to her nerves like she explained away her lower-than-expected A level grades. Nothing to do with her appalling preparation, though! I wonder how many of her impressionable teenage followers failed to get in because they followed her dreadful advice.
But provided they don't actually look into her background and watch any of her youtube videos (or read her ghastly novel), Ruby looks very good on paper. We know from her firsts at Exeter that even though she takes critical feedback extremely badly and seldom seems to accept it, when it comes to her academics she is both willing and able to "play the game" by implementing it. And she will have probably had someone look over her application to fix any problems, as well as learned from her previous applications. This is almost certainly her third attempt at getting into Oxford and her second attempt at getting in for her masters. She had it the applications on her to do list last year, and then we didn't hear anything until she said she was taking a gap year. Knowing how obsessed she is with Oxford, there's no way she didn't apply last year because that would be giving up a chance. As we've seen with Jack, there's only so many times she can keep reapplying. She'll have learned from Jack's mistakes too.
So she's applying with excellent marks; likely excellent references from those tutors who gave her firsts; an application that will have been carefully crafted, ruthlessly edited, and proofread (unlike her novels); and although it will matter less to Oxford tutors, claims to have run a successful youtube and stationery business. The trip to America was also likely with the application in mind.
The annoying thing is that she'll take this as vindication that the tutors made a mistake and didn't recognize her brilliance during the undergrad interviews, or just put it down to her nerves like she explained away her lower-than-expected A level grades. Nothing to do with her appalling preparation, though! I wonder how many of her impressionable teenage followers failed to get in because they followed her dreadful advice.
Looks like a toe.
I know she will be insufferable if she does manage to get accepted. Tbh tho, I will be surprised if she is accepted. If her previous failures, along with Jack's are anything to go by...
Lets see...Its got to be soon, right?
8 to 10 weeks after the deadline, so probably March (the dl was January 5th, if I remember correctly).
I’ve resigned myself to the inevitability of her getting in. It’ll make for entertaining content, though. She’s going to unravel at the speed of light.
I had a dream last night where I had been an exchange student and staying with the Boneseses for 6 months, and then it was time to start packing to go home, but I had amassed 600 books (very few of which I had read) and was frantically searching for boxes to pack them into. I also told Ruby at some point I knew she was a good person at heart but, quote, ”you really have to work on yourself”
I don't know what's keeping her from moving to Oxford if she's thirsting for the atmosphere of the city. She has no real job atm, she could apply for a clerical position there or just continue to steal charity money while she's living in Oxford without the need to tie her entire identity to a logo on a diploma. She has no real critical thinking skills, she doesn't enjoy reading or learning, she's just anxious to appear as studious and bookish as possible while doing the bare minimum. These degrees added (and will add) nothing to her. She is no different from people who shop for designer brands purely for the name on a shirt or a bag, she's just doing it with her education.
Lol your dream sounds like the kind I have if I fall asleep with YT on autoplay and it makes its way on to Booktube8 to 10 weeks after the deadline, so probably March (the dl was January 5th, if I remember correctly).
I’ve resigned myself to the inevitability of her getting in. It’ll make for entertaining content, though. She’s going to unravel at the speed of light.
I had a dream last night where I had been an exchange student and staying with the Boneseses for 6 months, and then it was time to start packing to go home, but I had amassed 600 books (very few of which I had read) and was frantically searching for boxes to pack them into. I also told Ruby at some point I knew she was a good person at heart but, quote, ”you really have to work on yourself”
You gave her good advice thoMeh, i don't mind if she gets into Oxford. But I just don't see it happening for some reason. If she does, yeah Im sure we'll get some entertaining content. If she doesn't, I wonder if she will tell us...
As much as I don't think she deserved her first class degree, I hope she does get into Oxford - or any masters course, tbh. If she doesn't, the failure of her gap year will turn into her entire life. Even if she feels out of her depth when she gets there, she needs the wake-up call and grounding in reality that you won't always be the best at something, there will be gaps in your knowledge and you have to acknowledge those to improve.
Although Oxford is less than an hour drive from her parents' house, so I'm sure she's already doing the calculations for the savings in time and fuel compared to their taxi services to Exeter
Although Oxford is less than an hour drive from her parents' house, so I'm sure she's already doing the calculations for the savings in time and fuel compared to their taxi services to Exeter
I would also say getting a reality-check at Oxford could do her some good, but on the other hand we know the only thing Ruby really excels in is pretending all of her failures are "societies fault". If she fails at Oxford she wont be able to do any critical thinking and reflection on it. It could get her further in life, making her reconsider her choices and making her get a job etc.. But likely it will just make her run home to her parents, continuing exactly the lifestyle of her "gap-year". She will make multiple videos how the "traditional" sense of success is wrong and you can also define success as running around your parents garden in a night gown while being absolutly misserable.
bingo!
The one creature hoping Ruby gets accepted to Oxford is Lola
Ruby when someone asks her to pronounce percent, foliage, Nabokov or Poirot correctly
Erimentha Parker Chapters 4 and 5:
- Just a random point, but this whole book highlights how privileged Ruby is and how she doesn't understand how people can essentially not have money. Erimentha is described as poor and needing a scholarship to afford the school. But there are just so many things in the book that contradict this. I'm only really writing this because Ruby had to mention that Erimentha's house has a mud room ...
Plot -
Honestly barely anything happens in these chapters
- Ruby goes to the library and is sad to find you can only take out two books at a time
- The librarian tells her the books she chose are quite tricky but Ruby essentially tells her to duck off as she read A brief history of time, so this is nothing
- Back in form they rearrange the desks and Ruby sits next to the teacher
- We get some unnecessary descriptions of trees and stuff while Ruby goes on a walk
- They have pumpkin soup for dinner and Ruby has to go get her waste of space brother who was building lego instead of doing work
- She uses an out of date encyclopaedia to read up and make notes on Cambodia so she can harass her form tutor later
- Waffles on for three pages about different definitions of bullying
Quotes -
- Just a random point, but this whole book highlights how privileged Ruby is and how she doesn't understand how people can essentially not have money. Erimentha is described as poor and needing a scholarship to afford the school. But there are just so many things in the book that contradict this. I'm only really writing this because Ruby had to mention that Erimentha's house has a mud room ...
Plot -
Honestly barely anything happens in these chapters
- Ruby goes to the library and is sad to find you can only take out two books at a time
- The librarian tells her the books she chose are quite tricky but Ruby essentially tells her to duck off as she read A brief history of time, so this is nothing
- Back in form they rearrange the desks and Ruby sits next to the teacher
- We get some unnecessary descriptions of trees and stuff while Ruby goes on a walk
- They have pumpkin soup for dinner and Ruby has to go get her waste of space brother who was building lego instead of doing work
- She uses an out of date encyclopaedia to read up and make notes on Cambodia so she can harass her form tutor later
- Waffles on for three pages about different definitions of bullying
Quotes -
- “They don’t offer psychology in year 7 but I still made the GCSE teacher a pamphlet about the changes in mental health care, from Plath’s time in McLean Hospital up until the present day. The historical element means that I can also show Mr Aldridge – I expect that he’d find that interesting”
- “I am actually thrilled – sitting so close to the teacher means that we can converse about Cambodia and mental health care while my peers chatter seamlessly about lip gloss, social media and pop music”
- Unfortunately for me, and to the delight of my peers. We have not been given any homework apart from a brief account of how we found our first day
- "I will continue doing extension projects, even if it means sneaking them to my teachers in the dead of night as though I am part of some clandestine organisation"
Or karamazov brothers
I am surprised she is going for her Masters since she hasn't got a clue as to what she wants to do as a career. I mean, she said she wants to be an author, but you need talent for that, not a Master's Degree, and she has already found out getting a book published by an actual prestigious company is not going to be handed to her on a silver platter. I hate the idea that she might take up a space at any university that someone else might desire and benefit from, whereas she is just doing it for the fun of it. Another aesthetic lifestyle to vlog about. It is a lot of hard work and she admitted she did not enjoy her university experience and does not enjoy researching things. She has no interest in mingling with her peers or her betters (which is basically everyone), though I know she craves Oxford and being a student again. At some point, the schooling ends and life begins, and the longer she delays adulting, the more screwed up she is going to be. Lately she hasn't said a word about her so-called job nor does it seem like she is doing her morning "routine" of reading philosophy. She never sticks with anything. An Oxford degree would be so wasted on her.
The thing is, she doesn’t even need a career. Her parents are clearly willing to support her at least to some extent. Say she does move into the house she bought, she can still continue with YouTube and the stationary brand and I think she could support herself honestly.
I might be wrong, but I think that originally Erimentha was not on a scholarship and then Ruby re-edited the book and added that in, presumably to make Erimentha more relatable (or to emphasise the ‘child genius’ aspect, I was never sure which). However, as you say, she didn’t really change anything in the rest of the book so Erimentha, despite needing financial support, lives in a large house with mud-rooms and pantries galore and lives a generally very privileged life (I’m not suggesting that doesn’t happen but honestly, in the context of this book it’s odd). I can’t help but feel that if this were real life, Erimentha would be regarded by the school as a major PITA and the scholarship would be quietly withdrawn. I really doubt they’d be supporting her over the fee-paying pupils, but perhaps I am cynical. Also, when reading keep an eye out for the disappearing sibling (who I’m sure was originally a girl but who was changed to a boy …)
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