Sara Tahir
Sara graduated from Brown University in 2010 with an A.B. in English. She spent her first year after college living, studying and working in Beijing, China. Currently, she writes for the Campus Companion, teaches at two independent schools in Rhode Island, and is applying to grad school. You can follow her @HSCboots.
Sara Tahir's Latest Posts
How to Win at Course Registration
A seemingly mindless task that doesn’t involve much more than clicking a bunch of fields on a course registration page, it’s actually a critical exercise that does require some thought and planning. But, there is a way to minimize the burden of selecting your classes for next semester and buying yourself at least a summer to get your shit together.
Obnoxious Things College Kids Do At Restaurants
We’ve all been there…going to your college town restaurant with 15 of your closest friends to celebrate a roommate’s birthday. The pomp and circumstance of the evening fills you with a kind of jubilation…but sometimes that jubilation translates into annoyance for your fellow restaurant-goers.
The 5 Phases of an All-Nighter
All-nighters are comically messy affairs. In the moment they can be adrenalin-producing and high anxiety inducing, but in retrospect they form some of your fondest college memories. The number of bonding sessions I had with people in libraries over our shared “omg, I’ve ruined my academic semester,” as well as the number of absurdities encountered at 2 AM…from naked donut runs to $1 bets…are often some of my best anecdotes about college right up there with Spring Weekend and Study Abroad.
How to Pass Classes Without Being Addicted to Coffee
Coffee. The word is pretty much synonymous with college. Walking across the green to class, it’s virtually impossible to see anyone without a travel mug. Lining up at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts is totally worth it over eating in the 30 minutes you have between classes. Before pulling an all-nighter in the library, it’s standard procedure to brew a tar-like blend to sustain you through your academic odyssey. Coffee is your life-force. It makes you who you are in college…strong enough to withstand sleep deprivation and absurdities galore. Yet, given the unnatural amount that most college students consume, your coffee addiction could very well be killing you.
How You Know You’re Ready for Grad School
This. is. IT. You did all of the work and put it in all that effort, and now you’re in! But, having an admissions committee decide that you’re a qualified candidate for their program doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re fully prepared to take on grad school. But, there are a few surefire signs that will help you know if you’re ready for the challenge:
Sleep Paralysis: The College Curse
At some point the dorm fire alarm sounded, and I knew I had to get up and go outside. With great difficulty I managed to muster open a single eyelid, and I could hear the trampling sounds of several people walking down the stairs near my room. The alarm was still ringing, and as I looked around the room through blurry vision, I realized that I could not physically lift my head. Panic started to settle in as I realized that it was not just my head that I could not move, but my arms and legs were completely limp and all my mental efforts to move were not being executed by my limbs. I was wide awake, but my body was not, and I was trapped inside of it for what felt like hours. After panically reciting a few prayers, thinking I was about to die, I managed to somehow put my mind back to sleep, and the next time I woke up, I could fully move again.