Learn More About MEFA Pathway
Click on each category below to find questions focused on that topic. If you have a question not found here, please contact us at info@mefapathway.org.
General
MEFA Pathway is Massachusetts’ free online portal designed to help students plan for academic success through middle school, high school, and beyond. Available to students from every corner of the Commonwealth, as well as counselors and parents, MEFA Pathway provides an array of tools and resources to create an informative and engaging web experience.
Through a seamless integration of interactive features, fun and revealing assessments, and informative step-by-step guides, MEFA Pathway offers an ongoing process of discovery. Students will use state-of-the-art technologies to plan how to make the most of their secondary school educational experience and the opportunities that await them.
MEFA Pathway serves as the “connective tissue” of Massachusetts’ college and career planning initiatives, created by MEFA, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, and with the support of the Commonwealth’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education.
MEFA Pathway is MEFA’s free college and career planning portal. MEFA Pathway furthers MEFA’s goal of providing comprehensive resources for college and career-bound students in grades 6-12 and their families. Day-to-day operations of MEFA Pathway are managed by MEFA, and MEFA Pathway users receive the full guidance and support that MEFA offers.
Affiliate Schools
Becoming an affiliate school allows counselors access to the Counselor Portal. MEFA works with the designated data manager at each affiliate school to upload a list of the school’s students and import it directly into the MEFA Pathway system. This creates a secure community that only users from that school can access, allowing counselors to support and guide students through post-secondary planning in preparation for college and career success.
For more information on becoming an affiliate school, email the MEFA Pathway team at info@mefapathway.org
MEFA Pathway is a no-cost resource. Any school district may take advantage of the many features MEFA Pathway offers and become an affiliate school free of charge.
If a school no longer wants to be an affiliate, the school should contact their MEFA Pathway Program Manager. Counselors will no longer have access to the Counselor Portal, although any students that have registered accounts would not be affected.
Registration
Yes. Any student can register for an account in MEFA Pathway. Students select the town in which they live and school they attend during the registration process.
Yes. Non-Massachusetts students can register for an account by selecting “Outside of MA” for City/Town and “Other” for School during the registration process.
Students can reset their password either by requesting a reset email on the login page or by answering the security questions created during the registration process.
Counselors can reset their password by clicking “Forgot your password” on the Counselor Portal login page and entering the email affiliated with their account.
All counselor usernames are in the format of the first initial of the first name followed by the last name (for example, Bob Smith’s username would be bsmith)
Resources
Yes, lessons plans are available in MEFA Pathway for a variety of grade levels and topics, including career exploration, college readiness, financial literacy, and academic preparation. The link to view all lesson plans can be found on the Counselor homepage within MEFA Pathway, or you can view all lesson plans by clicking here.
Yes. MEFA Pathway offers both live and recorded webinars on a variety of topics. The link to view all webinars can be found on the Counselor homepage within MEFA Pathway, or you can view all webinars by clicking here. You may also request a demo or training by sending an email to info@mefapathway.
Functionality
Yes, Common App integration is offered to affiliate schools that confirm participation.
Any student who has too many failed login attempts will be locked out for 15 minutes. After that, the student may attempt to log in again.
Yes. MEFA Pathway has many affiliate schools using multiple platforms.
Yes. A student’s MEFA Pathway account is never deleted, so the student will always have access to the Student Portal. Please note that if a student used a high school email address during the registration process, it is suggested that is the student update to a personal email address after high school graduation.
In order to have a complete, current roster of students within the Counselor Portal, the school will need to upload their student data file using either the Student Case Creation or SIMS file option.
As an affiliate school, counselors have access to their student data through the Counselor Portal. When the counselor logs in to the Counselor Portal, the Dashboard provides metrics, including the number of registered students along with critical tasks the students should complete.
Counselors that have access to the Counselor Portal can view student metrics on their Dashboard, including critical tasks that students should complete.
Yes, MEFA Pathway has a messaging center where students and counselors can communicate within the platform.
Features
MEFA Pathway is available in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Chinese, and English.
Privacy/Security
No, MEFA Pathway does not share any student data as stated in our agreement.
Yes, if a student is under the age of 14 and registering for a MEFA Pathway account with a school that is not an affiliate, the student will need to get parent consent. When the student creates an account, the parent will receive an email requesting consent for the student to access MEFA Pathway.