Testimonial to Beth Shak/CollegeFit and her help in daughter’s college application process
Beth Shak and CollegeFit came as a recommendation to us and we know why. Her ability to bring out—in fact, honor—our daughter’s unique voice and authenticity was unparalleled. Beth is an extraordinary college counselor who took the time to understand our high schooler and guide her to successful outcomes with sensitivity and direction.
Our daughter had been excited to begin the college application process as early as her sophomore year. She had been primed as a freshmen by her private-school peers who were preparing for college at the beginning of high school. It seemed they met as early as then with their college counselors to prepare for the process. We knew we needed to decipher this confusing landscape and began our search for a private college counselor.
We met Beth on a Zoom call in September of our daughter’s junior year.. We weren’t sure of the online (vs. in-person) aspect of Beth’s approach, especially given the previously long stretch of online course work due to COVID. She asked about our daughter first, described her process and services, and then said how she’d work with us to “navigate the college search and application process to minimize stress and lead to one goal: a happy and successful college experience.” Truer words could not have been spoken.
These two began as a team, and finished as a force.
Junior year was when the foundation was laid, with Beth devising the types of colleges to include in the search with our daughter, e.g., “big or small school? Greek life or not? East or west?”—and then the minutiae that weaves the personal into the offerings: “this school’s academic rating is 5. I know you’re in AP and IB courses, but do you want that level of effort?” Etc.
The period of reckoning came, however, when essays and supplement requirements were released. This period lasted from August – January of her senior year. Beth was in her stride, turning around essay drafts with comments as soon as they were written. She’d massage their structure and format, and enrich—never replace—the content. There were times that I’d see them working on the same Google content in real-time. “Are you in a group chat?” I’d ask. “No, that’s Beth!”. My daughter would show me her prompt feedback and comments and the dialogue would begin again.
I had no idea how personal and intense the college application process could be, answering prodding essay questions that force the applicant to dig down deep in their soul. Beth’s warm and engaging online approach—not sometimes but always— became a beam of sunshine coming from our daughter’s study.
The college application process is an unforgettable experience that needs to be approached with the utmost care, and that care is found in Beth Shak. It became a most personalized exercise in self exploration and expression for our daughter, requiring her to be vulnerable and honest, sharing her triumphs, tribulations, and learnings as she applied it to each essay question. Beth was by her side every step of the way, meeting our daughter’s commitment equally and delicately managing edits and rewrites.
I promise you, you can’t go wrong with Beth. In the end, the color assigned to each of the 22 colleges didn’t matter. She got into 19 of them, including 2 of the 3 red “super-reaches.” What’s the price tag of that?
Thank you Beth for being inspiring, dedicated, and knowledgeable, about universities and colleges, the college application process, and teenagers. And, most importantly, for seeing our authentic child for all she is and bringing out the best in her. You are worth your weight in gold, and helped our daughter with more than applying for and choosing a college: You were a constant force that grounded her through the difficult high school years, and helped her careen through personal challenges with finesse.
We will recommend you always.
USC 2028. Fight on!!!
Lisa (& Taylor) Barberio
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The college application process is not like it was when we went to college. I did not realize just how difficult it was until my senior was waist deep in the application process. He had done so much work on his own to make sure he was taking the right courses and applying to the right schools, we gave him a great deal of leeway in the process. What we quickly learned is that there are so many nuances to the college application process, and we were simply not prepared. When early rejections came, a friend told us about Beth Shak and CollegeFit. Although we were late in the process, Beth jumped in with both feet. She was able to speak to our son without the emotion (and let’s face it, the hysteria) of a parent who is simply too close to the situation. Beth is incredibly knowledgeable and was able to level with our senior on the reality of the process, while remaining encouraging. She got to know our son and did a great deal of research in order to provide him with so many creative alternatives – schools we had never heard of, but were nonetheless truly perfect options. She was incredibly thorough, finding (and then helped us correct) mistakes in his applications that, if gone unnoticed, would have had detrimental effects. Most of all, Beth relieved everyone’s stress by confidently leading us through the process. Beth is incredibly knowledgeable, professional, easy to work with, and responsive. I can’t say enough wonderful things about our entire experience with her. My only regret is that we didn’t contact her sooner. (We will with our daughter, a sophomore!) Ultimately, Beth helped our son get into his dream school, University of Michigan, but even if that hadn’t worked out, she provided us with so many other great alternatives and simply made the entire experience better. Before meeting Beth, I didn’t even know what a college consultant was. I will now tell every high school parent I know to call Beth Shak! She will truly make all the difference in the world!
Parent of accepted student, University of Michigan ’24
Can’t say enough good things about Beth and CollegeFit. She goes above and beyond for her students. Yes, her assistance with applications and essays is outstanding, but she also helps her students discover more about themselves, guiding them to options they otherwise wouldn’t know they had.
Allison Zandman Wexler
Mother of Bella, University of Chicago ’25
For the past twelve months Beth Shak has mentored and guided my son through the college application process. From the start Beth worked to get to know my son and in a relatively short time she really understood him. This led her to recommend a college I had not heard of before, but it turned out to be the most perfect fit for him!
Through her leadership, Beth helped with every step of the process. From keeping my son on track regarding deadlines to working with my husband and I on financial aid and scholarships. Beth gained my son’s trust and inspired him to give his all and his best. She strengthened his strengths and knew how to work with his challenges (procrastination and insistence on doing things his way). He looked forward to their meetings and worked extremely hard towards their mutual goals.
By working so closely with our son, it allowed my husband and I to take a back seat, which made this last year with our son at home a lot more enjoyable! Instead of power struggles, not to mention trying to figure everything out for ourselves or with a high school counselor who was spread too thin, it was a pleasure to watch the process unfold and see my son take increasing responsibility for and pride in himself.
I have and will continue to recommend Beth to everyone I know. By the application submission deadline, my son had an excellent list of colleges – all of which would have been a good match for him. And in addition to getting into his first choice, Beth helped us to navigate the financial aid application process and our son was also awarded a generous financial aid package.
I cannot say enough good things about Beth and working with her. She is a rare blend of extraordinary knowledge with a deep understanding of working with adolescents under pressure!
My daughter (a sophomore) is coming up next and you can be sure we have already committed to working with Beth again – which I think says it all!
Ilana L. Markowitz, LCSW
Son entering Haverford ’21