The MESA Day competitions push students to use their critical thinking skills to devise original solutions to math, engineering and science challenges. During the competition participants connect with other college-bound students and are able to compare ideas with each other. Throughout the fall and winter seasons, students work on their projects and prepare for MESA Day with guidance from teachers.

The competition or competitions that students will be able to participate in are determined by grade level. In some competitions MESA students work together to improve their projects and some are individual projects. The competitions use math, science and engineering to test each student’s resourcefulness skills.