Ali Reza Farahnakian

@uaustinorg I went to UNC chapel Hill in 1985. It was $468 dollars a semester. I got lucky as an in state student. I would encourage anyone going anywhere to break down how much it cost to go wherever you’re going by the day, the class and any other way so you know what it means to skip.

To: Admitted Students on Ivy Decision Day From: UATX Congratulations. Getting in was hard and you should be proud. Now here’s some unsolicited advice so you don’t waste the next four years. Go to class. We know this sounds obvious. But as the New York Times reported recently, Harvard students routinely skip class, rarely speak up when they're there, and focus on their devices instead of the discussion. Faculty say few students do enough preparation to contribute meaningfully. The average college student spends about 20 hours a week on class and studying combined. At UATX, we aim for 50. That’s the difference between a part-time commitment and a full-time job. You (or your parents) are about to spend upwards of $90K a year. If you don't show up, you're paying roughly $250 per skipped lecture for the privilege of sleeping in. Read the books yourself. Your generation is the first to arrive at college post-literate — raised on short-form video, dependent on algorithms, and increasingly incapable of sitting with a difficult text long enough to let it change your mind. Ninety percent of college students use AI academically. This makes you more reliant on the authority of others. Most professors will also stand between you and the text. They’ll tell you what Marx “really meant,” what Aristotle “failed to see,” as though an academic in 2026 has outsmarted minds that shaped civilizations. The good professors do the opposite: they put you in front of the book and they work with you to find what a great mind has to teach us directly. Find those professors, and read everything yourself. Say what you actually think. Seventy-three percent of conservative students report withholding their political views in class out of fear their grades will suffer. Our advice isn't political; it's intellectual. If you spend four years learning to say what's expected instead of what's true, you’ll graduate roughly where you started — just older, more credentialed, and more practiced at self-censorship. One study finds that nearly half of students show no measurable gains in “critical thinking” after two years in college. Keep this in mind as you make decisions about which professors to take and how to do your assignments. Taking a small hit on your paper to gain integrity and wisdom is usually worth it. Ask for real grades. Sixty percent of Harvard undergraduate grades are now A’s. Twenty-five years ago, it was 20%. It got so bad that the legendary Harvard professor, Harvey Mansfield, started giving students two grades: the official one for their transcript, and a private one reflecting what they actually earned. He called the official grades “ironic.” So here's a suggestion: Take your A, but also ask your professors for a “Mansfield grade” so that you know where you stand. And don’t avoid difficult courses to keep your transcript clean for law school. Get work experience before you graduate. Forty-two percent of recent college graduates are working jobs that don't require a degree. Many employers are projecting the next few years to be the worst college grad job market in years. A degree alone — even from an Ivy — is not a job guarantee. Seek out apprenticeships, internships, and real work starting freshman year. The students at UATX are connected with entrepreneurs and business leaders from day one. Many will graduate with four years of work experience alongside their degree. You can build something similar at your school, but you'll have to do it yourself. Understand how debt shapes your life. If you're paying full freight or even half, do the math with your eyes open. Your decision to take on debt will quietly reshape the trajectory of your adult life through countless small surrenders: the job you take because it’s safe instead of starting the company. The city you choose to live in. The relationship you delay and the kids you don’t have. For women, a $1,000 increase in student loan debt lowers the odds of marriage by 2% per month in the first four years after graduation. None of that shows up in the college brochure. If you're going to take on debt, treat it like the constraint it is from day one: save aggressively and make sure every dollar is buying something that will actually compound in your favor. Find the people who take school seriously. The best thing about a great school isn't the lectures or the library. It's the handful of professors and students who are genuinely there to learn — who read ahead, argue in good faith, and push you to be sharper. Find them. UATX is a small community of those who seek a serious education. At a larger university, you have to build this community yourself. * The most dangerous thing about an elite university is that it is very easy to do nothing for four years and still come out looking successful. The transcript will say you excelled. The diploma with the fancy crest will open certain doors. Your parents will be proud. And yet you will have coasted — through inflated grades, unread books, and borrowed opinions. Getting in is an accomplishment. Making the next four years worth it will be harder, and the right decisions will change everything. We wish you luck.

@prunderground @thepitnyc I have seen the power of what we do with Improv help any size business IMPROV THEIR BUSINESS

The Peoples Improv Theater (ThePIT-NYC.com) Creatively Expands Its #CorporateWorkshops and Show Options prunderground.com/?p=215032 @thepitnyc

@prunderground @thepitnyc I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I believe an improv class at The PIT will IMPROV YOUR LIFE.

Kick off The New Year With The Peoples Improv Theater’s Award-Winning #ComedyClasses and Seminars! prunderground.com/?p=215036 @thepitnyc

@prunderground @thepitnyc If you’ve ever thought of writing a monologue joke, here’s your chance to submit.

#NewYork Comedy Theater, The Peoples Improv Theater, (ThePIT-NYC.com) Now Accepting #MonologueJoke Submissions for New Digital Series prunderground.com/?p=215030 @thepitnyc

nyulangone last night applauded they front liners but they they were applauding the first responders. Inspiring as always to see. @ NYU Langone Health instagram.com/p/B_R8CsApHyFH…

Made TADIG last night, not as good as my Mom’s but it was a try. instagram.com/p/B_R7wdLJ1WGc…

@DavidSpade deserves a late night talk show. Is this because he won’t wear a suit. He’ll wear your monkey suit if that is what this is about.

@DavidSpade deserves to have a talk show on TV. Someone please help make this happen. He will wear a suit if that’s what this is about.

@champion sweatshirts @coronagrey

Leave @GalGadot alone. She tried. @johnlennon Imagine

Let’s leave @GalGadot alone. She tried. @johnlennon Imagine

Bicyclist of NYC. This is a perfect time to learn your bicycle on the streets like a big boy instead of the sidewalks. You can do it because you’re a big boy.

I’m social distancing You !

McKay and Shira’s wedding

@BrianStack153 McKay’s wedding? is that possible. Hope all is well.

Another photo of birthday boy, Neil Flynn, at a wedding in Chicago in the late 90's, with me and Ali Farahnakian.

Authentic Corona Grey

Let your corona grey shine.

@Cheesecake You are my heros. I will do a FREE team building/bonding workshop for your core through @zoom_us on behalf of @thepitnyc Happy to come to the first location you open...close to me, and bond that team in the entire factory. “Oh Cheesecake, my cheesecake”. TM. ❤️Ali

Let’s make tomorrow day ONE of getting it together post holiday.