Yes. All competitors use their own laptops. Competitors are free to bring external keyboards, mice, and monitors as well. All competitors will have access to University of Tennessee Wifi.

Yes. We will award winners for each individual Varsity case and an overall individual Varsity winner. We will also recognize winners of the Junior Varsity cases. MECC will invite the overall Varsity winner to compete against other regional winners in a live online battle approximately one to two weeks following the competition.

All students representing a university are on that university’s official team for the event. Students complete all cases as individuals, and they each receive their own scores. MECC will base a university’s team ranking on the top three individual rankings for each Varsity case. 

There is no maximum allowable number of students. However, to earn a team ranking for the competition, a university must have three individual scores for all four Varsity cases. These scores can come from the same three individuals on all cases, or some combination of individuals across cases.

Students are free to join the division of their choice on the day of the event. Once a student chooses a division, they must complete only cases in that division.

Like real-life problems, the Varsity cases are hard. Progress is a more realistic goal than perfection. Some case organizers estimate that students who can progress through at least 30% of a Varsity case can be competitive at the regional level. In contrast, any student with college-level knowledge of Excel can be competitive in the Junior Varsity division.

Absolutely. There does exist a learning curve, and everyone must start somewhere. Gaining initial exposure to this competition, the network it provides, and the expert and student panel discussions is a valuable first step. As such, bringing a group of Junior Varsity players will likely generate excitement for a school and stimulate future learning and growth.