Community Highlights: Meet Raven Willis of The Application Specialist

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Raven Willis.

Hi Raven, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
I graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Asian/Middle Eastern Studies. While at Dartmouth, I studied Mandarin, lived and worked in Beijing, and began pursuing my passion for education. My liberal arts education translates to being a strong writer, effective communicator, and problem solver.  

My fervor for Mandarin, Chinese culture, and education ignited as a high school student. Growing up in Atlanta, I attended an APS high school that offered Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language course. The summer before my senior year, I participated in a 6-week study abroad program in Beijing, China, with Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA), where I got the opportunity to experience the culture firsthand and volunteer as an English teacher to migrant students.  

Upon returning to Atlanta, I greeted my mom at the airport and told her I left my heart in Beijing. Consequently, enhancing my language proficiency at Dartmouth and starting my career in Beijing was a natural next step.  

After graduating from Dartmouth in 2014, I spent five years in Beijing as an educator. I served as an English teacher for two years to young learners and designed an interviewing course for older students to gain interview and presentation skills. My desire to have a greater impact on high school students propelled me into education consulting in 2016. I helped students enhance their application profiles and strategically guided them and their parents through the U.S. undergraduate admissions process. I loved helping my students improve academically and personally, enabling them to succeed in college and beyond.  

However, needing to take time to recharge and focus on myself, I traveled Southeast Asia from August to November 2019. I spent time in Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Desiring to enjoy my life while I still can, this became known as my mini retirement. During this period, I did things that not only brought me joy, but also developed me personally and spiritually. For example, in addition to riding on the back of a motorcycle on Vietnam’s beautiful Hai Van Pass and soaking in a hot spring in Taiwan, I also read books and took online coding and marketing courses, as these were subjects I wanted to learn more about.

Taking this time to slow down, I could reflect and assess what I wanted to do next with my career. I kept coming back to education consulting because I love helping my students succeed. However, I wanted to work freelance to avoid toxic work environments and be able to provide my clients with custom, individualized support.  

Returning to Atlanta in November 2019, I became a freelance education consultant. In addition to high school students, I expanded my clientele to include college students and professionals. The services I provided consisted of college and graduate school application development, essay editing, academic coaching, and resume revision.  

In January 2022, I decided to create my own business and brand myself as The Application Specialist. I officially launched in March 2022. With over 7 years of experience as an admissions expert and over 10 years of experience as an educator, I create custom strategies for my clients and deliver quality work, enabling them to realize their higher education and career aspirations.

I have helped students craft and finalize hundreds of college applications, facilitating their admission to Columbia University, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Barnard College, Spelman College, Wesleyan University, Cornell University, and New York University (to name a few).  

I truly love what I do and look forward to continuing to help clients around the world achieve their academic and professional goals for many years to come.  

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the beginning, most of my clients came to me via word of mouth or were repeat customers wanting additional services. However, I wanted to reach a wider audience and introduce them to The Application Specialist to create a sustainable business. To do this, I needed to establish a presence on social media platforms, particularly Instagram.  

I created the Instagram and Facebook accounts when I launched in March 2022, but I didn’t really start gaining followers and reach until 2023. Through this process, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. For example, in addition to posting content, I run ads to reach non-followers. As a result, I currently acquire clients via word of mouth and receive repeat customers, but most of my clients come to me via Instagram.  

I appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Application Specialist?
The Application Specialist provides expert, individualized support that helps college applicants, graduate school applicants, and professionals unlock and realize their potential. We tailor our services based on the client’s needs and create custom strategies to enable them to achieve their specific goals. You will not find any cookie cutters here!  

Utilizing her 7+ years of experience as an admissions expert and 10+ years of experience as an educator, The Application Specialist helps clients develop a strong application profile for their college applications, craft competitive and compelling college and graduate school applications, strengthen and improve their resume, as well as achieve their specific education goals in high school, college, and graduate school.  

The Application Specialist cares about her clients and supports them across the finish line. Her passion for delivering quality work as well as her compassion and empathy have allowed her to create lasting connections with clients. On many occasions, she has helped clients go from high school to college, from college to graduate school, and from graduate school to the workforce.

Please visit the website to read client testimonials and see what clients say about The Application Specialist.  

Our services include:  

Application Profile Development – To have strong college applications, you must first have quality content. The Application Specialist will create a custom strategy to help you build a strong application profile for your college applications that includes cultivating your specific academic interest, developing your extracurriculars, creating academic and testing goals, fostering necessary literacy skills, and identifying teacher recommenders. *This service is for High School Sophomores and Juniors.  

College Bound: Scholar Seminar Program – Summer Program for Rising Sophomores and Rising Juniors to enhance their application profile and maximize their college admissions chances. Enroll in the 4-week or 6-week College Bound Scholar Seminar Program to dive deeper into STEM & Social Science topics; cultivate interdisciplinary thinking, essay writing, and problem-solving skills; and much more!  

Academic Coaching – Currently in a degree program or about to start one and need an academic coach to help you cross the finish line? The Application Specialist will help you achieve your specific education goals by designing a custom plan and working with you to create SMART goals, schedule and manage your time, cultivate study strategies, and keep you accountable.  

Application Development – Craft compelling and competitive college and graduate school applications, personal statements, and supplemental essays with guidance from an admissions expert. From brainstorming, revising, and finalizing your personal statement and supplemental essays to counseling you through the application components, The Application Specialist will help you produce strong applications.

Essay Editing – Submitting competitive and compelling essays is crucial for college and graduate school admissions success. Don’t jeopardize your admissions chances by sending in subpar application essays. Let The Application Specialist help you improve and strengthen your essays!  

Resume Revision – Need a resume for your college, graduate school, or professional applications? The Application Specialist will help you revise and strengthen your current resume or work with you to create, build, and finalize a new one.  

From strengthening and refining application essays and professional resumes to providing mentorship and academic coaching, The Application Specialist will help you realize your higher education and career aspirations.  

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
Evernote is my go-to app for project management, creating to-do lists, and note-taking. It really helps me stay organized.  

I use Canva to create digital marketing material for Instagram and Facebook as well as print media, which consists of flyers and business cards. I also use it to design and create PDFs.  

Outside work, I run on the treadmill or outside to clear my mind. I enjoy running long distances. I usually run 3.1 miles. Doing this allows me to release stress and be efficient and effective when completing client work. I also joined a book club to maintain an active reading lifestyle and network with other Atlanta professionals. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theapplicationspecialist.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_application_specialist/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/raven-willis-108b3039