Dare to Pass

Dare to pass is a mantra we repeat over and over again to our students. And it’s a mantra inspired by the creator of the “CSI” franchise.

Anthony Zuiker is the creator of the “CSI” franchise. While “CSI” may seem like a tired franchise now aimed at older viewers on CBS, in the early part of this 21st century, it was considered truly revolutionary TV. When Zuiker pitched the show to network executives, he used vivid imagery to demonstrate the show’s now widely known and widely emulated device (e.g., watching a bullet pierce through the skin as we get a close-up of the bullet cutting through the body at the cellular level). And network executives passed, notably ABC, the network affiliated with the show’s then sister studio, Touchstone Television (now known as ABC Studios). So what’s the point of this story in the context of our college admissions blog? Well, network executives may have passed on Zuiker’s pitch, but that pitch ended up becoming a seminal television show of the 21st century. And Zuiker, ever the iconoclast, chose to name his production company “Dare To Pass.” We’re confident you understand his motivation.

Daring to pass is a theme we often talk about with our students at Ivy Coach. We always like to say to our students that the narratives they share, their stories — they need to be presented so wonderfully and in such a compelling manner that admissions officers (the equivalent of television network executives in this example) would have to…dare to pass. That’s right. Dare to pass on the student with this incredibly powerful Personal Statement. Dare to pass on the student with this remarkable, fascinating backstory. Dare to pass on the student who is going to, without question, change the world as we know it.

We say it over and over again to our students. It’s a mantra we repeat. Admissions officers must dare to pass on our students. They must dare to defer or deny them, to waitlist them. We must help our students compel admissions officers to want to root for them, to create such compelling narratives in their applications that no human being could possibly ever root against them. Not one. We know the craft of how to get admissions officers to root for applicants and it’s work we take tremendous pride in and have for many years.