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How to Win a Coca Cola Scholarship

Financial Aid

If you're looking into scholarship programs to help pay for your college education, the famous Coca-Cola scholarships are a good place to start. Why are they famous? Well, the Coca-Cola foundation offers some of the most generous awards out there to graduating high school seniors. They tend to be very competitive, so if you want a shot at the scholarship, you should learn as much about them as you possibly can.

In this post, I'll talk about some of the logistical concerns you might have about the scholarship— things like deadlines and eligibility requirements. But more importantly, I'll also offer helpful tips and strategies to give your application the boost it needs. Read on to optimize your chances of winning one of these competitive scholarships!

What Is the Coca-Cola Scholarship?

There are a few different types of Coca-Cola scholarships, but the one you'll likely be most interested in is called the Coca-Cola Scholars Scholarship . This scholarship is a merit-based award given to graduating high school seniors who are enrolling in college.

Each year since 1989, 150 high school seniors per year have received $20,000 through this award program. If you've looked into other scholarship programs, you might recognize that the Coca-Cola Scholars award amount is pretty generous. $20,000 can cover a significant portion of your cost of attendance!

As you might expect, the scholarship is pretty competitive: the top five colleges that scholarship recipients attend are Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Yale, and Princeton . Applicants are evaluated on leadership, academics, and service. Many scholarship recipients also demonstrate a passion for social justice.

How Do You Know If You're Eligible?

In order to qualify for the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship, you must meet all of the following requirements :

• Be a current high school senior attending school in the US
• Be a US citizen, national, permanent resident, refugee, asylee, Cuban-Haitian entrant, or humanitarian parolee
• Anticipate receiving your high school diploma during the current academic year
• Plan on attending an accredited US post-secondary institution (two- or four-year college)
• Able to show proof of a minimum overall B/3.0 GPA in high school courses
• Cannot be a child/grandchild of any employee, officer, or owner of Coca-Cola bottling companies, the Coca-Cola company, Company divisions or subsidiaries

If you meet all of the above criteria, you're on the right track to submitting a successful Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship application.

What Information Do You Need to Apply?

The next step to submitting a successful application would be to gather all necessary materials and information ahead of time. You'll need all of the following to complete an application :

• Your high school transcript and academic record —You'll need this to report courses and grades starting with your freshman year.
• Contact information —You will need to provide the names, emails, and phone numbers of your guidance counselor and principal.
• School activities: student council, class officer, academic/honor societies, school newspaper or literary magazine, school yearbook
• Performing arts: drama, theater, dance
• Speech, debate, or forensics
• Music: band, orchestra, vocal
• Visual arts
• Other: any school-related clubs, organizations, or intramurals
• List of honors and awards —You'll have to list any accolades you've received while participating in any clubs or organizations, and the level of each award (local, state, regional, or national) since your freshman year.
• List of volunteer activities —You'll be asked about all of your unpaid community service activities for each grade in high school. Be prepared to provide the number of hours you spent in each activity in addition to any honors or awards you received for your participation.
• List of paid work experiences —If you have an updated resume, you're already set! Be prepared to provide the number of weeks employed, average number of hours worked per week during the school year, and average number of hours worked during the summer for each job.

Because this isn't a need-based scholarship, y ou won't have to worry about submitting any financial information . You also don't need to worry about reporting any standardized test scores!

How Do You Submit a Coca-Cola Scholarship Application?

You have nothing to lose by submitting an application. Even if you're worried you won't receive an award because the scholarship is so competitive, think about how a few hours of your time could lead to a $20,000 scholarship. It's a no-brainer!

The application window typically opens in early August and closes in late October. This year's application period is from August 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022.

Click through to find the appropriate link to the scholarship here . You can also check out a full sample application before submitting your own app.

You'll have a lot more fun this upcoming Halloween if you submit your application in advance of the deadline.

When Do You Find Out Whether You've Been Selected?

There are several stages to the scholarship recipient selection process. First, about 2,000 semi-finalists will be selected by mid-November. If you make it to this stage, you'll be asked to submit additional scholarship materials by late December. These materials will include essays, a recommendation, and a current high school transcript.

A program committee then reviews semi-finalist applications in January to narrow it down to 250 regional finalists by the end of the month. Regional finalist interviews (over the phone or via Skype) take place in February.

The scholarship winners are finally selected and notified after regional interviews . Scholarship recipients are invited to participate in a Scholars Weekend in Atlanta at the end of March or early April.

How Can You Use the Scholarship Funds?

If you win a Coca-Cola Scholars Scholarship, you can use it for any school-related expenses, including tuition, on-campus housing, books, fees, or even a computer .

The scholarship is pretty flexible. You have between four and 10 years to use the full award amount and can choose to defer the award anytime within that 10-year time frame (like if you want to take a gap year or study abroad).

Strategies: How to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Coca-Cola Scholars Scholarship

According to the Coca-Cola Scholars program , scholarship recipients are strong leaders who are committed to "making a significant impact on their schools and communities."

The most successful applications will embody the values that the Coca-Cola Scholars program prioritizes: leadership, service, and community commitment. Ultimately, scholarship awards are investments not only in a particular student but also in that student's community.

Scholarships will have the greatest impact when they're awarded to students who are invested in "paying it forward," or giving back to others . Corporate scholarships assume that the most successful students and professionals will demonstrate very strong leadership skills and academic potential.

The following strategies will help you highlight the qualities that make you most attractive to the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.

If You're a Younger High School Student ...

Demonstrate academic excellence.

You probably noticed earlier in this post that Coca-Cola scholarship winners tend to be going to some pretty great schools. Corporate scholarship programs like this one want to invest in students who show the most promise and potential.

One way you can demonstrate your own potential is to earn exceptional grades — this will obviously serve you well when it comes to applying to colleges and other scholarship programs.

In addition, take AP or advanced classes if they're offered . You'll be a more impressive applicant if your academic record shows a more rigorous course load. Unfortunately, the more challenging the courses, the more difficulty you may have in school. While this is okay (your grades don't have to be perfect!), make sure to seek out extra help in weaker subject areas . Meet with your teachers or tutors to stay on top of your game.

Develop Leadership Skills

Leadership roles will help you stand out, in a good way.

As with academic performance, leadership skills development indicates that you're likely to be successful as a student and as a professional. If you actively seek out leadership roles, this will demonstrate to the Coca-Cola Scholarship Program that you're proactive and take initiative.

Commit to clubs, groups, or activities early on that align well with your interests and passions . It's generally better to be heavily invested in a few activities. If you make too many commitments, the caliber of your participation (and the opportunities for future leadership roles) will suffer. Focus on quality over quantity .

Here's an example of what I mean: as a kid, I attended one particular camp every summer. It was something I really enjoyed, and it was great to go back year after year. When I aged out of the camp, I was given the opportunity to participate in the program as a camp counselor— I got to continue doing something I loved because I had shown that I was committed to it long-term, and I was "promoted" to a new and exciting leadership position . I likely wouldn't have gotten the position of camp counselor so easily if I hadn't already spent years at the camp.

You can also demonstrate leadership and initiative in more creative ways. For example:

• Spend more time in your community service activities than is required of you. The scholarship evaluators will know if you need to volunteer a minimum number of hours to graduate, and they won't be impressed if you barely meet that minimum. Going above and beyond any required minimums demonstrates true initiative and a strong commitment to your community (qualities that will make you really stand out as an applicant).
• Actively seek out awards and honors, especially for your community service activities. You'll have to provide a list of accolades and honors for your scholarship application—if you're already dedicated to service, it's worth your time to seek out opportunities for acknowledgment. Check with your school guidance counselor or do a Google search for awards in your area.

If You're Ready to Apply for the Coca-Cola Scholars Scholarship ...

Keep coca-cola scholars values in mind as you fill out your application.

Remember that successful applicants are students who not only excel academically but are also involved in their school communities. Through participation in classes and extracurriculars, scholarship winners show that they are passionate and service-oriented .

Embrace the Lack of First-Round Essays

Unlike many scholarship applications, the Coca Cola Scholars application doesn’t require any essays in the first-round of the application process. Any application for which you don't have to write an essay must be an easy application, right? In reality, the Coca-Cola Scholarship application is trickier than most because it doesn't give you a chance to explain either your academic performance or your participation in extracurriculars.

Essentially, you can't talk about your passions, well-roundedness, intelligence, or commitment to service to make yourself stand out from the thousands of other first-round applicants. The only thing you can do is show—through your grades and your participation in various activities— how you embody the qualities that the Coca-Cola Scholarship values in its award recipients .

You'll notice on the sample application that questions about leadership roles come before any questions about your grades; clearly, they're a very important part of the application. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do to talk up your community commitments or leadership experiences if you don't have a well-developed resume; the application is pretty cut and dry.

Of course, if you make it to the second round of the application process, you’ll get to explain why you’re a great fit for a Coca Cola scholarship in some required essays. To stand out in the essay-free first round, though, make sure that your resume is comprehensive. Make a list of every single activity, event, club, and organization you've ever been a part of and consider whether you could count it as some sort of leadership or community service experience.

Scour your brain—don't leave anything out! Remember that camp I was discussing earlier? I didn't think to consider it as volunteer work or community service—I had done it for years and considered it a privilege to work as a counselor. Luckily, someone less naive than me hinted that I should include it on my resume under "Volunteer Experience."

Submit a Polished Finished Product

Have someone you trust—a teacher or guidance counselor, for example—look over your application before you submit it to make sure it's as polished as possible. Your reader might have suggestions on additional things you should include (or leave out).

What's Next?

On a mission to find other opportunities scholarship funding? You're in the right place! Check out our strategy guides to getting the Tylenol , Gates Millennium , Walmart, and McDonald's scholarships.

There are tons of scholarships out there! If you need help looking for more, take a look at our expert guide to finding scholarships for college. 

Want to improve your application strength for this scholarship and for college? You can raise your GPA , take a rigorous course load , and improve your SAT/ACT score .

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Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation: 2023-24 Guide to Essays and Short Responses

If you’re applying to the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation , you will need to pen three essays of 300 words each and three short responses of 50 words each. Read on to discover the prompts and our insider advice for writing responses that will differentiate you from similarly qualified applicants!

The following three questions are short responses to be answered in 50 words or fewer., what topic or issue would you want to learn more about or work on during a gap year between high school graduation and the start of college (50 words), coke scholars will be granted an extra hour in each day. what will you do with yours (50 words), you are teaching a college course – what is it called (50 words).

All three of these short-answer prompts lead to the same question: what inspires you? Which ideas, topics, activities, and values do you hold dear? The Foundation is giving you a chance to talk about not just your academic interests, but also your hobbies, passions, and motivations. Spend some time brainstorming about all the things you like or that pique your interest and jot them all down. Then, look for connections. Think about a gap year completely free of obligations. What projects would you pursue? What global, international, or personal issues would you explore? Maybe your grandparents immigrated from Peru, and you’d spend your year living and working on a farm there, exploring your interest in sustainable agriculture. Perhaps you’ve always wished you had time to learn the clarinet and would spend your extra hour each day practicing so you could play the Super Mario Bros. theme song. Maybe you’re a huge cinephile with an interest in social theory and would teach a course about the way class relations have been depicted in modern cinema. Each answer should be unique enough from the others so the panel gets to know as much as possible about you from one short answer to another. 

The following three questions are to be answered in 300 words or fewer. (Adapting submissions from other applications is allowed.)

Throughout high school, you have likely encountered obstacles, opportunities, or challenges that have helped you learn and grow. think in terms of skills honed, knowledge gained, values clarified, passions discovered, empathy developed, or perspectives explored. describe at least one of these instances, what you learned, and how it has affected your personal and professional goals. (you may write about more than one topic.) (300 words).

This prompt may look familiar, as it’s very similar to Prompt #2 of the Common App and you have, no doubt, seen similar supplemental essay prompts. If you’ve already written about this for college applications, congrats! All you need to do is trim your existing essay down to 300 words. If not, isolate a challenging incident in your life and illustrate how you learned from it. Writing about a difficult time in your life requires both vulnerability and perspective. Instead of focusing on the obstacle you were up against, spend most of the words at your disposal on how you rose to the occasion to overcome the challenge at hand. This is your opportunity to show the Foundation that you are a developing, resilient young adult. As you zero in on a key moment, ask yourself the following questions: What new perspectives, values, or communication skills did you develop? Who, if applicable, did you choose to lean on and why? What did you learn about yourself? How will you approach difficult situations moving forward? How did this event affect your vision of your own personal and professional future? Be honest and open, and we’re sure the Foundation will be impressed.

If you could participate in only one of the activities you have listed on this application, which one would you keep and why? (300 words)

Spotted in the wild: one of the most classic essay types out there, the Activity Essay . The hardest part here is picking what to write about, so look over your list of activities and jot down whatever comes to mind about each one. Why do you enjoy orchestra, coaching pee wee soccer, your food service job, or robotics club? Think about the skills you’re building, the leadership experiences, accolades received, and emotions each one brings up. Once you’ve finished brainstorming, pick the activity that appeals to both your heart and your mind: which one means the most to you and also would give you the most well-rounded experience all on its own? The key to this essay is vulnerability, so make sure you write honestly and authentically about why this activity speaks to you, what you glean from it, and what it contributes to your community.

Choose a community or network to which you belong and describe how you have contributed to shaping or improving it as well as how it has shaped you. (300 words)

This is a classic Community Essay , through and through. The Foundation wants to know what or who has made you into the person you are today and how you have impacted your community. First of all, let us remind you that your “community” can be just about anything, from your neighborhood to your family to your Taylor Swift fan club. What you address can be reflective of larger cultural constructs or a trait specific to your immediate family. Pick a community that means something to you and in which you’ve been very involved. How has this community helped form your identity? How has it influenced your vision of your own future? What have you done to better your community? Maybe you started cooking a weekly pancake breakfast for your younger siblings after your parents got divorced, which sparked your capstone research into food as a bonding agent. Perhaps members of your traveling baseball team lost funding and you organized a car wash to raise money so the whole team could compete in the playoffs. It might be tempting to pen a vivid description of your community and leave it at that, but the point of an essay like this is to tell a story about you and your contributions.

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Tags: Coca-Cola , Coca-Cola Essays , Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation , essay guide , Foundation essays

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Coca-Cola Scholarship: How To Apply and What You Need to Know

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The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation is a subsidiary of the famous Coca-Cola Company. Its focus is, in its own words, “bring[ing] better to the world through investment in exceptional high school students who are dedicated to leadership, service, and action that positively affects others”. Through its scholarship programs and Leadership Summits, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has helped high school seniors achieve their academic and intellectual potential for over 25 years.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation supports more than 1,400 college students each year through its 3 nationally recognized programs. One of these programs is the Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship. 150 high school seniors are selected each year to receive this $20,000 scholarship.

Unfortunately, the application period for 2019 high school graduates has closed, but it’s not too late for those graduating in 2020 or later. Read on to learn what you need to know to have a fighting chance of becoming a Coca-Cola Scholar, with all the perks and privileges that come with it.

Eligibility Requirements

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation very clearly outlines what types of students are eligible for the Coca-Cola Scholarship, and they will ask you to show proof that you meet all of their eligibility requirements when you fill out the application.

In order to qualify for the Coca-Cola Scholarship, you must be a graduating high school senior in good standing. You must also be a US citizen, US National, US Permanent Resident, Refugee, Asylee, Cuban-Haitian Entrant, or Humanitarian Parolee. You must also be planning to pursue a degree at a postsecondary institution within a year of completing your graduation. You must also have earned a minimum 3.0 weighted GPA at your high school.

You are not eligible for the Coca-Cola Scholarship if you are child or grandchild of any Coca-Cola employee, an international student, a high school graduate, or a temporary resident of the United States.

What is the Application Process Like/What Info Do I Need?

In order to apply for the Coca-Cola Scholarship, you will need to submit a Google Form application via their online portal. However, if you want to see a sample application, you can view it here.

There are no essays, transcripts, or other supplementary documents needed to apply for this scholarship. However, we recommend securing a copy of your transcript before filling out this application in order to ensure that you are providing the most accurate and up-to-date information about yourself.

In addition, here are some other things you will need to gather before you start filling out this application:

• The High School Code for your school from CollegeBoard
• Your parents approximate combined income before taxes last year (optional)
• Information about all of your school-sponsored extracurriculars (e.g. how long you were in each club, what your official leadership titles were, how long you’ve been in these roles, etc)
• Information on any and all awards and honors you have received throughout your time in high school
• Information on any community service hours you have completed throughout high school
• The number of AP, IB, and Honors classes offered at your school
• Your grades throughout high school
• Your current class rank and class size
• Information on any and all work experiences you’ve had in high school (what was the job, how many hours did you work per week, etc)

Important Deadlines To Know

Every academic year, the application for the Coca-Colar scholarship opens in August and is due on October 31st. You may apply during the fall of your senior year.

When you’re figuring out when to start this application, you should keep in mind that it may take a few weeks to secure important documents like your official transcript and your parents’ tax information. Thus, it’s best to start sooner rather than later. You don’t want to be caught in a pinch at the last minute!

For More Information

Want to learn more about scholarships you could earn in high school? Check out these previous blog posts:

How Your SAT Scores Can Help You Earn Scholarships

15 College Scholarship Resources For High School Students

10 Weird College Scholarships You Should Consider

What You Need To Know For a Successful Scholarship Season

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How to Win the Coca-Cola Scholarship

What is the coca-cola scholarship.

The Coca-Cola scholarship is a $20,000 scholarship awarded to 150 exceptional high school seniors that provides them with a unique and exclusive alumni network. It is one of the more prestigious scholarships for high school students and has a rigorous admission process. In their own words, the scholarship is for students “who demonstrate academic achievement and leadership.” The top five colleges Coke scholars attend are Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Yale, and Princeton.

In 2023 the Coca-Cola scholarship had around 91,000 applicants. Each year, the applicants are whittled down to 2,000 semifinalists. After a secondary application process, these semifinalists are reduced even further to 250 regional finalists. Finally, after an interview process, 150 Coke scholars are chosen in March. To get an idea of just how competitive the scholarship is, in the 2023 cycle, less than 1/6 of 1% of applicants were chosen. As a 2020 Coke Scholar, I can offer some tips on how to maximize your chances of winning this prestigious, but competitive award.

Eligibility requirements:

• Be a current high school senior attending school in the US
• Be a US citizen, national, or permanent resident
• Anticipate receiving your high school diploma
• Plan on attending an accredited US post-secondary institution (two- or four-year college)
• Cannot be a child/grandchild of any employee, officer, or owner of Coca-Cola bottling companies, the Coca-Cola company, Company divisions, or subsidiaries

Fill out your application as thoroughly as you can

For the scholarship application, you have the opportunity to provide the scholarship committee with a list of clubs and organizations you are involved in, a list of honors and awards you have received, a list of volunteer activities, and a list of paid work experiences/internships. The application allows an ample amount of activities to be listed for each section (around 10 or 11), so you should try to include every activity you have participated in or award you have received, no matter how small.

Make sure to list your most meaningful and important activities/awards first for each section to ensure that your application readers understand which activities you prioritize the most. For example, if you have been the captain of the tennis team for four years and dedicated many hours to the sport, you should definitely list tennis as one of the first activities on your list.

Emphasize activities where you have demonstrated initiative and leadership

One of the most important qualities the Coca-Cola scholarship committee values is leadership. Successful applicants for the scholarship should be able to demonstrate initiative and leadership through their activities, honors, community service, and work experience. The activities you include on your application should illustrate your interests and ability to be a leader. For example, if you only participated at your local soup kitchen because you just wanted to fulfill the community service requirements, this would not be an activity you want to include.

On the other hand, if you established a fundraiser or volunteer group at your school that provides food and necessary supplies to needy and homeless people in your community, you should definitely include this activity. The difference between these two examples illustrates what characteristics the Coca-Cola scholarship committee values the most. The former example portrays a desire to help others in one’s community, while the latter example shows someone who is passionate about community service and creates a system that can help others in their community with greater impact.

For semifinalists: highlight your most meaningful interests and personal characteristics

Were you selected as a Coca-Cola semifinalist? First of all, congrats! Second, if you are selected as a semifinalist, you will be required to provide additional details about your leadership, service, involvement, and work including statements of impact, essays, and an online submission of one reference from someone who can best assess your character and your impact on your community.

The second part of the application process is designed to get to know you better, rather than simply looking at a list of activities or awards. As a result, your statements of impact for your activities should highlight your most substantive experiences. Your essays should emphasize your greatest interests and personal characteristics. In fact, one of the essay prompts even asks you what activity you would participate in if you could only participate in one activity. You want to use your essays to speak about experiences in your life that have shaped your interests and personal goals. Unique and honest personal essays will help distinguish you from other candidates.

Additionally, make sure that you request a recommendation from someone who can attest to your personal qualities and dedication to your community, not just your work ethic or academic abilities. For example, my recommender was my guidance counselor because she could provide a more holistic overview of myself as well as provide details of my extracurricular activities, personal traits, and academic abilities.

For regional finalists: practice, practice, practice!

Were you selected as a Coca-Cola regional finalist? Congratulations! You have demonstrated yourself to be an exceptional candidate among a large pool of applicants.  If you are selected as a regional finalist, you will be subjected to a short 20-minute interview with three or four people. Some interviewers will be Coke scholar alumni and some may be employees of the Coca-Cola Scholarship Foundation.

You will have the opportunity to have the interview in-person or online. If you need to have an online interview, know that this will not affect your application! (I had an online interview, and my application was successful). During the interview, keep in mind that you may not have the opportunity to ask questions as they will probably cut you off at the 20-minute mark.

To prepare for the interview, make sure to review your application and familiarize yourself with your essay answers and lists of activities and awards. Also, it is very important that you practice answering sample interview questions with family or friends in order to feel more comfortable during the real interview.

This interview will not be like a normal college alumni interview, as all of your interviewers will have read your application thoroughly and will ask pointed questions about specific parts of your application. Therefore, practicing will make you more prepared to answer questions and will allow you to feel more relaxed. Finally, remember that the application process, especially the interview, can be subjective and unpredictable, so you should pat yourself on the back for making it this far. Good luck!

This informational essay was written by Rohan Krishnan, Yale University Class of ‘24. If you want to get help writing your application essays from Rohan or other CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions advisors, click here.

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Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship Program

About the scholarship.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship Program offers academic achievement-based scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Scholarship recipients are selected based on their leadership, service, and the potential impact they offer in their schools and the local community.

• Essay Required : Yes
• Need-Based : No
• Merit-Based : Yes
• Minimum 3.00 GPA
• Resident of the U.S.
• High school senior
• Seeking an associate or bachelor's degree
• Planning to attend school in the U.S.
• U.S. citizens, nationals, permanent residents, refugees, asylees, CubanHaitian Entrants, or humanitarian parolees - based on the guidelines utilized by the U.S Department of Education for Federal Financial Aid eligibility
• Participation in community service, extracurricular activities, or leadership
• Country : US

• Coca-Cola Scholars
• Current Students
• Online Only Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Parents & Family
• Alumni & Friends
• Community & Business
• Student Life
• Annual Mentoring Dinner
• Academic Support
• Student Support
• Prospective Students

How to Apply

The scholarship application can be found under the Financial Aid tab within your Owl Express portal. 

Step 1:   Go to    http://www.kennesaw.edu

Step 2:   Click MyKSU (at the top of the screen)

Step 3:   Scroll down to Owl Express (Kennesaw)

Step 4:    Click Login

Step 5:    Authenticate

Note:  You will need to authenticate by using your assigned KSU NetID and entering your password

Step 6:   Click The Financial Aid Tab  

Step 7:    Click Scholarship Application

Step 8:   Complete one easy application. 

Step 9:    Remember to answer the Coca-Cola Essay Question:    As a first-generation college student, which individual(s) or life experience/event impacted your decision to go to college?

Step 10:   Answer all the questions

Step 11:   Save and Submit 

Things to Remember:

• Have available all your information, including extracurricular activities, and volunteer information
• Before writing your essay review the tips on the   FAQ   Your writing skills will be a part of the evaluation process. Check your essays for spelling and grammatical errors before submitting.  

Note:  Students are matched to all scholarship for which they are eligible by applying just once each academic year.

Deadline is April 1, 2018

Contact Info

Kennesaw Campus 1000 Chastain Road Kennesaw, GA 30144

Marietta Campus 1100 South Marietta Pkwy Marietta, GA 30060

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Phone 470-KSU-INFO (470-578-4636)

kennesaw.edu/info

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Frequently Asked Questions

Coca- cola scholars program application process, coca- cola scholars program notification process, who is eligible to become a coca−cola scholar.

Seniors at secondary schools throughout the United States who meet the eligibility requirements may apply for one of 250 four-year merit-based scholarships. High school seniors, who have not yet graduated, must submit initial applications between August and October 31 of his/her senior year in high school.

What are the application requirements?

In order to be eligible for a Coca−Cola Scholarship, you must be:

• a CURRENT high school or home-school senior anticipating graduation from a school or program in the United States during the academic year in which application is made;
• a U.S. Citizen; U.S. National; U.S. Permanent Resident; Temporary Resident (legalization program); Refugee; Asylee; Cuban-Haitian Entrant; or Humanitarian Parolee;
• planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution;
• carrying a minimum 3.00 GPA at the end of your junior year of high school

Applicants may NOT be:

children or grandchildren of employees, officers, or owners of Coca−Cola bottling companies, The Coca−Cola Company or any other bottler or Company divisions or subsidiaries

Can you send students applications?

High school seniors can apply online through our website between August and October 31 of his/her senior year.

How many scholarships are awarded and how much are they worth?

The Coca−Cola Scholars Program scholarship is an achievement-based scholarship awarded to 250 high school seniors each year. Fifty of these are four-year $20,000 scholarships ($5,000 per year for four years), while 200 are designated as four-year $10,000 scholarships ($2,500 per year for four years). The scholarships can be used at any accredited U.S. college or university.

Do I need to send an essay or transcripts?

There is a preliminary online application for our scholarship program. At that time we only require the completed online application. We CANNOT review or return any supplements to the application. We understand that there may not be enough space for you to fill out the application completely. Please complete the application to the best of your ability and in the most accurate manner possible. If your application advances, you will have the opportunity to elaborate on all your activities.

How will I find out if my application advanced?

Only those students whose applications advance to the Semifinalist round are notified of their selection by mail in mid to late November. Applicants who do not receive written notification by the first week in January can assume their application did not advance. A list of Semifinalists will be posted on our website shortly after notification letters are sent.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, coca-cola scholarship essays requirement.

Hey! I'm looking into the Coca-Cola scholarship, but I'm a little confused. Do they require essays as part of the application process? If yes, what should I be writing about? Thanks in advance!

Yes, the Coca-Cola scholarship does require essays as part of the application process. However, the specific essay topics tend to change each year. While I cannot provide you with the exact essay topics for the current application cycle, I can give you a general idea of what to expect.

In the past, Coca-Cola scholarship essay prompts have asked applicants to discuss their leadership experience, community involvement, and/or personal challenges they have faced and how they overcame them. Additionally, you may be asked to discuss your future goals and aspirations.

When writing your essays, it's important to be authentic and genuine. Share your personal experiences, and highlight the impact you've had on your community or the ways in which you've grown as a leader or an individual. Make sure to take your time, develop a clear narrative, and be mindful of the word count. Finally, proofread your essays thoroughly to ensure they are well-written and free of errors.

Remember that the Coca-Cola scholarship is competitive, so focus on showcasing your unique qualities and experiences that make you stand out among the applicants. Good luck with your application!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

The application for 2024-2025 high school graduates is now available here . The deadline to apply is 5pm ET on September 30, 2024.

For more information, review the FAQ here .

Be a Coke Scholar

Our application is open! High school seniors, apply for our $20,000 college scholarship by September 30, 2024.

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Making the Great Extraordinary

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation invests in our future — offering college scholarships to exceptional high school students dedicated to leadership, service, and action that positively affects others. We’ve done it for 34 years, changing the paths of more than 6,600 young people ready to change the world.

Scholar Profiles

We are the sum total of our actions.

Coke Scholars are scientists and politicians. Educators and actors. Technologists, thinkers, doers, and above all, game-changers. You’ll find our visionary leaders refreshing the world achieving all over the globe, and their impact reflected in nearly every sector from business to nonprofit to public service.

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