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Essay Contest & Scholarship Program

What is the PAVE Essay Contest?​

Note: the contest is currently closed

The PAVE Essay Contest and Scholarship Program encourages high school juniors and seniors to imagine a world with autonomous vehicles and write about what this new technology would mean for their communities. The contest opens at the start of the year, and submissions close in the spring.

Two high school students and recipients of a previous PAVE essay contest in an autonomous demo car
4 young men stand in front of a STEER car at an essay contest award ceremony

The contest is open to high school juniors and seniors. Every year, a different geographical area is chosen. 

The 2023-2024 contest focused on the Washington D.C. Tri-State Area, but we will expand to other locations for the 2024-2025 school year.

A selection committee, made up of AV industry experts, will score the essays using this scoring rubric.
Note: we are not currently accepting submissions. To enter, complete your entry form, including the text of your essay (1,000 words or fewer) by the final submission deadline. If you are unable to access the Google form, send us an email and we’ll send you a pdf copy of the submission form.

The first, second and third-place winners will receive college scholarship funding, as follows:

  • First place – $2,500
  • Second place – $1,500
  • Third place – $1,000

You can read all of the rules and guidelines for the contest here. Note that all essays will be run through an AI detector, and any found to have been AI-generated will be disqualified.

Essay Contest FAQs

Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors of the 2023-2024 Contest

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District Department of Transportation logo

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