Resources for College Administrators

FAFSA Simplification Roundtable Discussion

Is FAFSA Simplification keeping you up at night? Or are you too busy to even think about it? Either way, please join us for the first in a series of virtual roundtable discussions for financial aid administrators on this topic co-sponsored by MEFA and MASFAA (Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators) and led by Gail Holt, Dean of Financial Aid at Amherst College and Chair of the NASFAA FAFSA Simplification Implementation Working Group, and Jill Desjean, Policy Analyst at NASFAA. Throughout these conversations, as information unfolds and we continue to learn more, we will discuss the different approaches colleges are taking to implement these financial aid updates, learn from each other, and develop an execution plan for our own institutions. Watch

Online Loan Certification

You have two options to certify MEFA Loans for your students:

1. Through our MEFA online loan certification system. We encourage you to take advantage of this system, and to provide other college administrators at your school with access.

• Log In Now
• Add New School or Users
• Modify User Access
• Set up electronic disbursements utilizing a wire transfer
• Send refunds via EFT School Refund EFT Transmittal Form
• View FAQs
• Watch Our Demo

2. Through ELM. We have joined ELM Resources as a lender partner, and all schools certifying through ELM can see all active and prior MEFA Loans from July 1, 2019 onward within that platform. You can learn more about certifying MEFA Loans through ELM here.

By certifying MEFA Loans, you are authorizing on behalf of your institution that you have ensured that each of the following statements is true:  

1. The MEFA Loan has been certified for an amount equal to or less than 100% of the student's cost of attendance less other financial aid received for the academic period. 
2. The student is admitted or enrolled at least half time in an accredited degree-granting program and is making Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by your institution. 

MEFA Loan Eligibility

Students must meet certain criteria to borrow a MEFA Loan. To be eligible for a MEFA Loan, the student must:

• Be enrolled at least half time in an accredited degree-granting program at an eligible non-profit college or university.
• As long as the student meets this requirement during the academic year, the student may borrow a loan for less than half time for the summer session. Summer loans may be certified using the student's enrollment status for the current academic year.

• Maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the college or university.

All borrowers must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

The loan application must meet MEFA's current credit approval standards.

Loan Documentation

Our Loan Disclosures and Self-Certification Form provide all the important details about our loans. And our Loan Fact Sheets are perfect to share with students and their families.

• MEFA's Undergraduate Loan Application and Solicitation Disclosure
• MEFA's Graduate Loan Application and Solicitation Disclosure
• MEFA's Applicant Self-Certification Form
• MEFA's Undergraduate Loans Fact Sheet
• MEFA's Graduate Loans Fact Sheet

MEFA's Financial Aid Training for College Admissions Professionals

Watch this one-hour training to learn about the financial aid process. In a panel discussion, three veteran financial aid experts speak to financial aid applications, types of financial aid, factors that determine a student's aid eligibility, and more.

Watch the training

Introducing the MEFA Institute

We provide professional development trainings for our college administrator partners focused on planning, saving, and paying for college, including information on certifying and processing MEFA Loans. Learn more

U.Plan Prepaid Tuition Program

We partner with over 70 Massachusetts colleges and universities to offer the U.Plan Prepaid Tuition Program to families. If your school participates in the U.Plan and you serve as a U.Plan administrator, make sure to create an online account to manage your U.Plan rosters and set up ACH/EFT to receive U.Plan funds electronically.

To set up an online account, please contact Claudia Niles at cniles@mefa.org or 617-224-4811. Please note that you must use one of the following supported desktop browsers to create an online U.Plan account: Google Chrome – two latest versions, Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, or Safari for Mac – two latest versions.

Use our U.Plan Distribution Refund Form to refund all or a portion of a student's U.Plan payment to MEFA.

Watch our video on Navigating the U.Plan Portal for College Administrators for a quick introduction to the portal.

Watch our recorded webinar on Navigating the U.Plan System for a comprehensive overview on how to administer U.Plan funds.

Log in to the U.Plan

Volunteer with MEFA

During the past year, MEFA reached over 20,000 families through more than 500 seminars on early college planning, college admissions, and college financing. We welcome your participation, so please contact Stephanie Wells at swells@mefa.org if you're interested in serving as a volunteer presenter to speak to families at high schools in your community.