Explore frequently asked questions to support college exploration, planning, and applications in your redesigned platform experience!
COMMON APP & MEFA PATHWAY BASICS
Q: Does Academic Match in College Match use my other assessment results, like career interest assessments?
A: No. Academic Match looks specifically at ACT/SAT scores and GPA that are entered by a student. Career interest results and other Kuder assessments aren't factored in, however, students may review recommended majors by assessment results under Explore Majors > Majors Suggested by Assessment Results.
Q: Is there a video that walks students through how to use Common App?
A: Yes. A student-facing MEFA Pathway Common App walkthrough video is available on the Massachusetts Students: How to Use Common App page.
Q: Does the platform provide a “Colleges I'm Applying To” list once students connect their account? Does that list sync both ways?
A: The list does not snyc both ways. Students add colleges directly inside Common App's College Search, and that master list lives in Common App. Once a student's account is connected, colleges already on that Common App list sync over automatically to build their list in MEFA Pathway. Learn more about the student process here.
COUNSELORS, TEACHERS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Q: Do counselors or teachers need to do anything before students can select them as a recommender?
A: It depends on the role. Teachers do not, the Common App user role defaults to Teacher the moment an educator logs in, so they're selectable right away. Counselors do need to take action. An educator or counselor has to log into the MEFA Pathway admin experience and change their role to Counselor (or Teacher & Counselor) before students can pick them for that role. Learn more about role set up here.
Q: Will my counselor and teachers be notified when students select them?
A: Yes. They get both an email and an in-app alert in the MEFA Pathway admin experience for every student who selects them as a teacher or counselor, so nothing gets missed.
Q: Do students need their counselor to complete a Counselor Recommendation before they can finish everything else in Common App?
A: No! A Counselor Recommendation is not always required. Whether a Counselor Recommendation is required is shown on the student's side, per school. When it isn't required (or a counselor won't be sending one), the counselor can select “I will not be sending an evaluation for this student” on the Counselor Recommendation form, which closes the item out instead of leaving the application incomplete.
Q: Does students' GPA auto-populate from our SIS?
A: Not automatically. GPA doesn't currently auto-populate from your school's SIS into MEFA Pathway or Common App - counselors enter it manually on the School Report, Mid-Year Report, and Final Report forms. The Auto Populate Responses feature lets a counselor save their GPA and class-rank formatting once and reuse it across those forms, which cuts down on repeat entry.
REPORTING & RESULTS
Q: Can admins see which colleges students have been accepted into, without students reporting it themselves?
A: Not automatically. Colleges send admission decisions and acceptance letters directly to students through each college's own applicant portal or email, not through Common App or MEFA Pathway. Once a student reports their decision under College Applications, though, admins can see (and even edit) the attending decision for that Common App college; they just can't see it before the student enters it.