MESA Program Helps SCC Students Transfer to Four-Year Universities
MESA, or Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Program is one of Solano Community College’s most innovative and successful programs. It helps educationally disadvantaged students to excel in math and science and graduate with math-based degrees.
The program has grown from five students in 1992 to the present-day enrollment of over 100 students. Since 2003, every MESA Program participant, approximately 100 students per year, has transferred to a four-year college and completed their degrees.
MESA participants must:
- Be eligible for Federal Financial Aid
- Be a first-generation college student
- Declare a major or have a dedicated interest in Math, Engineering, or Science
- Be transferring to a four-year university with intentions of earning a Bachelor’s degree
- Participate in MESA activities
- Make significant progress towards transferring in their major.
The MESA model for success includes a variety of services that results in a high rate of academic achievement. Elements of the MESA model include individual academic plans, workshops, counseling, clustering of students in classes to enhance collaborative study, and field trips to industry sites and university campuses.
For example, in 2013 MESA graduates transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, California State University Sacramento, University of California at Davis, University of the Pacific, Texas A&M University, and Cornell University.
“After 40 years, MESA remains a model on how to ‘get it right’ for students in the fields of mathematics, engineering and science.”
– Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The SCC Educational Foundation provides need-based scholarships to support the educational achievement of MESA students. If you are interested in funding a MESA scholarship and need further information, please contact the foundation at curt.johnston@solano.edu or 707-864-7141.