We see new, amazing experiences created every day by student developers and we wanted to come up with a way to return the favor: we are partnering with the band The Gracious Few (featuring members of the bands LIVE and Candlebox) to create an amazing experience for ten (10) US college students (and their guest) in Austin, TX at SXSW: attend a private concert, receive backstage passes, go to a private dinner with the band, and be interviewed on national radio about their apps.

We’re topping all this off with two $15,000 cash awards (one for the top free app and another for the top paid app) for the two apps that will be named “Big App on Campus.”

Big App on Campus (BAOC) is open to US College and University students who build apps for Windows Phone. Each app created from August 1^st, 2011 until February 14^th, 2012 can be entered and students can submit multiple entries.

Overview of Prizes

• Top free app + top paid app get $15,000 each!!
• 10 students (and their guests) will join us in Austin, TX for SXSW Music festival in March 2012
• Transportation, hotel, $500 spending money
• Private concert with The Gracious Few
• Backstage passes and private dinner with the band

Timeline & Judging Criteria

There are a few dates of note:

• February 14, 2012 -> deadline for all entries to be submitted
• February 15, 2012 -> Round 1: Judging
• February 23, 2012 -> Round 2: Public voting
• March 1, 2012 -> Round 3: Public voting to select Big App on Campus
• March 13-18, 2012 -> SXSW Music festival in Austin, TX

Every app submitted will be judged on three criteria:

• Innovation (40%): How innovative is the app? Does it do something new or does it accomplish something in a new way?
• Experience (40%): Does it feel seamless and like a native experience on Windows Phone? Does the app have a polished feel?
• Potential (20%): Does the app have potential in the market (lots of users, making money, both) or not?

Public voting will include a combo of number of downloads of the app + “Likes” on Facebook. Semi-finalists will definitely want to think about how they can get their friends, family, fellow-students, and even complete strangers to download and “Like” their apps.

How to Enter

Obviously entering requires building & publishing an app. Each student must also complete the Official entry form (takes 49.7 seconds on average). Here’s what to do:

1. Register for DreamSpark at http://www.dreamspark.com and for an App Hub membership (both are free of charge for students) at https://users.create.msdn.com/Register/. Also check out our great Getting Started Guide for more info and resources. https://www.dreamspark.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductId=28
2. Create & publish a Windows Phone application to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Make the apps free, charge money, put ads in them…it’s up to you.
3. Visit http://wpdev.ms/BAOCApplication and complete an Official entry form. Do this after you’ve published your apps because you’ll need the App ID.

The full details are in the Official Rules so make sure you check them out.

Eligibility & Rules

• Open to all US college/university students (18+)
• Rules:  http://www.microsoft.com/student/bigapponcampus/
• Entry Form:  http://wpdev.ms/BAOCApplication