Financial Aid Change Steers Traffic at MEFA.org

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new federal financial aid term—the Student Aid Index (SAI)—dominated the interest of visitors to MEFA’s free, online, college-planning resource center in 2024. The SAI topic proved most popular among MEFA’s articles, calculators, and videos.

The most viewed article in 2024, What is the Student Aid Index (SAI)?, explains the key acronym’s significance in the revamped federal financial aid process and generated 68,000 views.

In line with the top article, MEFA’s SAI Calculator proved itself as the website’s most popular tool with 137,000 uses. MEFA’s College Cost Projector ranked second with almost 66,000. The resource allows families to estimate future college prices, providing some direction as they anticipate college costs and save for the future.

MEFA’s videos received over 47,000 views, with What is the SAI? leading with 6,700. The MEFA Podcast had over 10,000 streams. It's most popular episode? Filing Financial Aid Forms with Divorced or Separated Parents.

MEFA —the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority —provides quality, free, online resources to help families plan, save, and pay for college and reach financial goals. The agency’s website includes a searchable library of articles, videos, calculators, and podcast episodes. MEFA develops new resources on a consistent basis in response to questions received from students and families who attend one of MEFA’s free webinars, participate in a one-on-one session, or call into MEFA’s phone line.

More than half a million readers clicked on MEFA’s college planning articles with 580,000 views in 2024.

Here are the top 5 MEFA articles read in 2024

1. What is the Student Aid Index (SAI)? (68,363 views)
2. Here’s How College Calculate Your SAI (13,501 views)
3. Scholarships for Elementary & Middle School Students (12,032 views)
4. Scholarship with July Deadlines (9,398 views)
5. What is the Effect of Retirement Savings on Financial Aid (9,212 views)

About MEFA

MEFA is a state authority, not reliant on state or federal appropriations, established under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 15C. MEFA’s mission, since its founding in 1982, has been to help Massachusetts students and families access and afford higher education and reach financial goals through education programs, tax-advantaged savings plans, competitive loans, and expert guidance. All of MEFA’s work aligns with the ever-present goal to support the independence, growth, and success of Massachusetts students and families. Visit mefa.org to learn more.