College costs shouldn't decide whose mind gets a chance.
The Rose Kelley Scholarship awards $1,000 to an autistic student pursuing college, trade school, or a certificate program — through an application designed to be clear, calm, and fair. Applications are open now.
Why this exists
Built by the autism community, for autistic students.
Autistic students are talented, driven, and full of ideas — and they graduate college at lower rates than their peers, often because of barriers that have nothing to do with ability: cost, inaccessible processes, and systems that weren't designed with them in mind.
The Rose Kelley Scholarship exists to remove one of those barriers. We fund autistic students directly, and we designed every part of this process — from this website to the application itself — to be sensory-friendly, predictable, and written in plain language.
The scholarship carries Rose Kelley's name — meet her below. Our symbol comes from the neurodiversity movement: an infinite spectrum of minds, each with its own path forward.
The person behind the name
Meet Rose Kelley.
Rose Kelley is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) whose work is devoted to helping children. Day to day, that means meeting each child where they are, paying attention to how they communicate, and helping them build the skills to go wherever they want to go next.
Ask Rose what she hopes for the children she works with, and the answer isn't a milestone or a score — it's a future. A classroom that fits. A trade they love. A life on their own terms. Too often, the road to that future gets blocked by things that have nothing to do with a child's potential.
This scholarship carries her name because it funds exactly what she works toward: one more student, one more open path.
“This has always been a life dream of mine, and I am so proud to be able to share this with you. We are amazed by all of you and believe you will have a wonderful future!”
— Rose Kelley
Eligibility
Can I apply?
If all four of these are true for you, yes — we want your application.
You identify as autistic
Self-identification is accepted. A formal diagnosis is not required — we know diagnosis access is unequal.
You're pursuing education after high school
Four-year college, community college, trade school, or a certificate program — all count equally.
You'll be enrolled during the 2026–27 year
Incoming and current students are both welcome. Part-time enrollment is fine.
You live in the United States
Any state or territory. Citizenship is not required.
GPA is not a requirement. Grades don't capture everything, and this scholarship isn't only for straight-A students. One more rule for fairness: family members and close friends of the people running the Rose Kelley Scholarship can't apply.
Key dates
The full timeline, up front.
No moving deadlines, no surprises. If anything ever changes, we'll email every applicant directly.
- NowYou are here
Applications are open
Apply any time before the deadline. Applying early doesn't earn extra points — take the time you need.
- Oct 15, 2026
Application deadline
Submit any time up to 11:59 PM Pacific on this date. If something outside your control is in the way, email us before the deadline — we're humans, not a portal, and we'll work with you.
- Right away
We confirm we received it
You'll see confirmation on this page the moment you submit, and a confirmation email lands in your inbox within minutes. If anything is missing, we'll follow up and give you time to fix it.
- Dec 1, 2026
Every applicant hears back
Not just the recipient — everyone gets an answer by email on or before this date.
- Jan 2027
Award is paid
In time for the spring term, sent to your school or to you — whichever works better for your situation.
How we score
The rubric, published.
Two readers score every application independently, using exactly this. Highest combined score receives the award.
1–5 points, per reader
A path of your own
How clearly you describe what you want to study, build, or become. Big or small, conventional or not — clarity and genuine interest are what score, not ambition for its own sake.
1–5 points, per reader
Steps already taken
Anything you've done to move toward that path: classes, projects, jobs, self-teaching, caregiving, advocacy. Effort counts wherever it happened — not just in school.
1–5 points, per reader
What $1,000 changes
How the award concretely helps: tuition, a laptop, transportation, housing, fewer work hours. Specific and honest beats dramatic.
Fairness rules
- Writing style is not scored. Spelling, grammar, and "polish" earn zero points — substance does.
- Video and audio responses are scored with the identical rubric.
- A reader with any personal connection to an applicant steps out, and a replacement reader scores instead.
- Ties are broken by the "What $1,000 changes" score, then by a joint re-read.
- Scores are final, but any applicant can ask for their own scores and we'll share them.
How to apply
One form. One question.
Most people finish in under an hour. Fields marked with * are required.
Application form
What to expect: four short fields and one essay. No documents, no transcripts, no account. Your answers save on this device as you type, so you can leave and come back. Press Submit and your application comes straight to us — you'll see confirmation right here on the page, and nothing else is due after that.
Prefer a different route? Download the plain-text application and email your answers to rosekelleyscholarship@gmail.com, or request another format (large print, phone call). Every route is scored identically.
Application received. You're done.
Thank you — your application is safely in. We'll email a confirmation within two days, and every applicant hears back by December 1, 2026. A copy of what you sent is below if you'd like to keep it.
That didn't go through — but you have two easy backups.
Something interrupted the submission (often a network hiccup or a strict browser extension). Nothing was lost: press the button below to open an email draft with your answers filled in, or copy the text and email it to rosekelleyscholarship@gmail.com yourself. Every route counts the same.
We only use your information to review your application. We never sell or share it, and we delete application materials after the cycle ends. Details in the fine print.
Donate
Fund the next recipient.
This scholarship is personally run and personally funded. Every dollar we receive goes straight into the award — we cover all costs of running it ourselves.
We're not a registered nonprofit (yet), so contributions are personal gifts and aren't tax-deductible. What we can promise: every dollar we receive goes to a student, we keep a public ledger of every dollar in and out, and we'll email you when your dollars are awarded.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
Do I need a formal autism diagnosis to apply?
No. Self-identification is accepted. Formal diagnosis is expensive and harder to access for many people — especially women, people of color, and adults — and we won't make it a gate.
Does the money go to me or to my school?
Your choice. We can send funds to your school's financial aid office or directly to you. One note: under IRS rules, scholarship money used for tuition, required fees, and books is tax-free to you; amounts used for other things like housing may count as taxable income. We'll walk through the options with the recipient.
Will applying affect my financial aid?
Outside scholarships can affect aid packages at some schools. We recommend checking with your financial aid office, and we're happy to structure the payment in the way that helps you most.
Who reviews the applications?
A small volunteer panel that includes autistic adults. Every application is read by at least two people using the same written rubric — the one published on this page.
Is this a registered nonprofit?
Not yet — the Rose Kelley Scholarship is personally run and personally funded, in its first year. That means donations aren't tax-deductible right now, but it also means zero overhead: every dollar we receive goes to a student. If the scholarship grows, formalizing as a nonprofit is the plan.
What happens to my application after the cycle?
We keep applications only as long as needed to run the cycle, then delete them. We never sell or share your information, and we never use applications for marketing or testimonials without your written permission.
Can I apply again if I don't receive it?
Yes — please do. You can apply every year you remain eligible.
I need an accommodation to apply. What do I do?
Email rosekelleyscholarship@gmail.com and tell us what would help — a different format, extra time due to circumstances, a phone or video call instead of writing. Asking for an accommodation never affects your score.
Accessibility statement
This site is built to be sensory-friendly and readable: calm colors, no flashing or autoplaying content, motion disabled for anyone whose device requests reduced motion, visible keyboard focus, and body text set in Atkinson Hyperlegible, a typeface designed for maximum legibility.
If any part of this site or application is hard for you to use, that's a problem we want to fix — email rosekelleyscholarship@gmail.com and we'll make it work for you.
Privacy, in plain words
Applications submitted through this form are stored in a private, encrypted database (Google Firebase) that only our review panel can access. Applications sent by email are read by the same panel. This site uses no analytics trackers, no ad pixels, and no marketing cookies.
We use your contact information only to run the scholarship: confirmations, decisions, and payment logistics. Materials are deleted after each cycle. We will never sell, share, or publish your information, and we'll never announce the recipient publicly without their written permission.