Essay Contest & Scholarship Program

What is the PAVE Essay Contest?​

The 2024-2025 Essay Contest is Now Closed

The PAVE Essay Contest and Scholarship Program encourages high school students to imagine a world with autonomous vehicles and write about what this new technology would mean for their communities. Contest winners can earn up to $5,000 for college.

Questions?

Outline of the state of Texas containing the text "2025 PAVE Essay Contest"
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 who are enrolled in high school.

A selection committee, made up of AV industry experts, will score the essays using this scoring rubric.

When the contest is open, applicants submit their essay on a Google form. 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.

Scholarship funding will be awarded in the following amounts: $3,500 for first place, $2,500 for second place, and $1,500 for third place. Two honorable mentions will also be awarded $1,000 each.

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 2024-2025 Contest