Build What Comes Next

The sponsor is DirectRank LLC, doing business as Xpand Digital, located at 310 Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401, United States. One recipient will receive a one-time $2,000 USD educational scholarship for the 2027 cycle. Applications must be received by June 30, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Applicants must be legal residents of the 50 United States or District of Columbia; be at least 18 years old by the deadline; and be accepted to or enrolled, full-time or part-time, in an accredited U.S. two-year college, four-year college or university, graduate or professional program, community college, or trade, technical or vocational program for the 2027–2028 academic year. Applicants must be in good academic standing under their institution's rules.

Employees and contractors of the sponsor, the scholarship judges, and members of their immediate families or households are not eligible. One application per person is permitted.

Entries must reflect the applicant's own ideas, perspective and final expression. Plagiarized, purchased, copied or materially misrepresented entries may be disqualified. AI tools may be used for brainstorming or editing if that use is disclosed in the application. Undisclosed AI-generated substantive responses may be disqualified.

Eligible entries are reviewed using the published rubric: clarity 30%, originality 25%, practical usefulness 25%, and personal perspective 20%. The highest-scoring eligible entry is selected. If scores tie, the entry with the higher clarity score prevails, followed by originality.

A finalist must provide reasonable proof of identity, age, residency, acceptance or enrollment, and good standing within seven calendar days of request. Failure to verify eligibility may result in selection of the next highest-scoring applicant. The sponsor's decisions are final to the extent permitted by law.

The scholarship is intended for tuition, required fees, books or other eligible education costs. Payment will ordinarily be made directly to the recipient's institution and is subject to the school's financial-aid and disbursement procedures. The recipient is responsible for any tax or financial-aid reporting obligations. The award is non-transferable and no cash substitution is promised.

Application information is collected only to administer, verify and document this scholarship. It is not used to enroll applicants in marketing or sales messages. Access is limited to the sponsor, service providers supporting the form, and the scholarship reviewers as reasonably necessary.

The sponsor will not publish an applicant's essay, image, full name or school for promotional use without separate written permission. Applicants may request access, correction or deletion by emailing joel@xpanddigital.io, subject to records the sponsor must reasonably retain for program administration or legal obligations.

The sponsor may disqualify incomplete, duplicate, fraudulent, abusive or technically manipulated entries. If events outside the sponsor's reasonable control materially affect the program, the sponsor may adjust the administration while preserving a fair, skills-based selection process and the stated award value. Questions may be sent to joel@xpanddigital.io.