Beth Shak has spent nearly 20 years studying the landscape of higher education and offers her expertise to students striving for a successful college experience. Beth works with students and families to create a list of colleges that constitute a good fit and develops a unique admissions strategy for each student. She has a particular interest in helping families to understand all the ways in which they can control college costs and guides families through the financial aid application process.
Beth holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and has received the Independent Educational Consultant Certificate from the University of California, Irvine. Beth is a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC), and the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC.) Beth was one of the first 100 individuals in the U.S. to hold the Professional Credential in The FAFSA Application Process from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). This Credential is held almost exclusively by financial aid administrators at colleges and universities, and rarely by individuals on the “other side” of the desk. Beth is a Volunteer FAFSA Expert at College Bowl Sunday, a nationwide event providing FAFSA assistance to college-bound students and their families. Prior to founding CollegeFit, Beth had over 30 years of experience in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors. She has been a self-employed securities trader; a Director of Municipal and Business Contracts; a Town Planner for the Town of Essex, Vermont; Director of Legislative Services at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns; and the Vermont Data Center Coordinator in the Vermont Office of State Planning.
Beth is married with two adult children. Her son graduated with distinction from Yale University with a double major in Economics/Math and History. He is a senior derivatives trader at a global, quantitative trading firm in New York City. Her daughter graduated in 2017 from Middlebury College with a BA in Neuroscience and a minor in Global Health (Summa Cum Laude), after spending a semester at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She is a Product Manager at a San Francisco and NYC-based healthcare technology company that focuses in the area of oncology research.
