Coca Cola Scholarship
The Coca Cola Scholarship Program is one of the most recognized and respected company-sponsored scholarships in the United States. Established in 1986 as a joint effort by Coca Cola Bottlers and The Coca Cola Company to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their flagship brand, the program establishes an enduring legacy of educating tomorrow’s leaders through college scholarships.
More than 4,250 scholarship recipients, known as Coca Cola Scholars program scholarship, have benefited from more than $38 million in college scholarships since the program’s inception.
Coca Cola Scholarship
The coca cola scholars foundation scholarship also donates $3 million annually to students entering college through its Four-Year Award for Seniors program and an additional $400,000 through its Coca Cola Two-Year Colleges Scholarship program.
Coca Cola Scholars are required to commit to lifelong leadership and community service upon receiving their Coca Cola Scholarships. Maybe coke really does work better!
What Information Do You Need To Apply?
The next step for a successful application is to gather all the necessary materials and information in advance. To fill out an application you will need the following:
- Your high school diploma and academic records – you will need these to report courses and grades from your freshman year.
- Contact Information – You must provide the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of your guidance counselor and principal.
- List of Clubs and Organizations – In the application you will be asked to provide a list of academic and extracurricular activities in which you have participated since your freshman year along with any relevant leadership positions. The application asks for the following specific domains:
- School Activities: Student Council, Class Representatives, Academic/Honour Societies, Student Newspaper or Literary Journal, School Yearbook
2. Performing Arts: drama, theatre, dance
3. Speech, debate or forensics
4. Music: band, orchestra, vocals
5. Visual arts
6. Athletics
7. Other: all school-related clubs, organizations or universities
- List of Honors and Awards – You must list all awards you have received while participating in clubs or organizations and the amount of each award (local, state, regional, or national) since your freshman year.
- Volunteer Activities List – You will be asked about all your unpaid community service activities for each class in the high school. Be prepared to include the number of hours you devoted to each activity, in addition to any honors or awards you received for your participation.
- Paid Work Experience List – If you have an updated resume, you’re already done! Be prepared to report for each job the number of weeks worked, the average number of hours worked per week during the school year, and the average number of hours worked during the summer.
As this is not a need-based scholarship, you do not need to worry about submitting financial information. You don’t have to worry about reporting standardized test results either!
How To Submit A Coca Cola Scholarship Application?
You have nothing to lose by applying. Even if you’re worried about not getting an award because the scholarship is so competitive, think about how a few hours of your time could result in a $20,000 scholarship. It’s child’s play!
The application window usually opens at the beginning of August and ends at the end of October. This year’s application period runs from August 1, 2023 to October 31, 2023.
Coca Cola Scholarship Requirements
The program is open to all high school seniors in the United States who are US citizens or legal residents, whether homeschooled or taught in a traditional school. You must meet minimum GPA requirements (see below) and cannot be children or grandchildren of Coca Cola employees. See below for more specific requirements.
Coca Cola Scholarship Requirements And Eligibility
Interested applicants must be:
- Current high school (or homeschooling) seniors in the United States.
- U.S. citizens; US citizens; permanent residents of the United States; Temporary Residents (in a regularization program); Refugees; Asylum seekers; Cuban-Haitian participants; or probation officers on humanitarian grounds.
- Expect high school diploma at time of application.
- Planning to graduate from an accredited US college or university
- Have at least a 3.00 GPA by the end of their junior year of high school.
- Children or grandchildren of employees, officers or owners of Coca Cola Bottlers, The Coca Cola Company, divisions or subsidiaries are not eligible.
Coca Cola Scholarship Program (For 4-year College Applicants)
- Coca Cola Scholars – Coca Cola scholarship program is for high school seniors who are attending a 4-year college or university. The Coca Cola Scholarship Program awards 250 four-year merit-based scholarships each year.
- Coca Cola Scholarship Semi-Finalists – From the original applicants, the Scholarship Committee selects approximately 2,200 semi-finalists. These semi-finalists submit a second entry and from this group the 250 finalists are selected.
- Coca Cola Scholarship Finalists – In April of their senior year, the 250 finalists will be invited to Atlanta for face-to-face interviews. Finalists are interviewed by a national selection committee representing eminent leaders in business, government, education and the arts. 50 students are then designated as National Scholars and each receive a $20,000 award for their college or university. The remaining 200 students are designated Regional Scholars and each receive a $10,000 award for their college or university education as education grants.
Interview information will be sent with the letter advising the student that they are a finalist.
Fill Out Your Application In As Much Detail As Possible
For the coca cola scholarship deadline application, you have the opportunity to provide the scholarship committee with a list of the clubs and organizations in which you are involved, a list of honors and awards you have received, a list of honorary activities and a list of paid work experience. Internships.
The coca cola scholarship application allows listing a large number of activities for each section (around 10 or 11), so try to include every activity you have participated in or every award you have received, no matter how small is.
Make sure you list your most meaningful and important activities/awards first for each section to ensure your application readers understand which activities you prioritize the most. For example, if you’ve been the captain of the tennis team for four years and have devoted many hours to the sport, you should definitely make tennis one of the first activities on your list.
Highlight Activities Where You Have Shown Initiative And Leadership
One of the most important qualities that the Coca Cola Scholarship 2023 Committee values is leadership. Successful students for the scholarship should be able to demonstrate initiative and leadership through their activities, honors, community service, and work experience.
The activities you indicate in your application should illustrate your interests and skills as a leader. For example, if you only attended your local soup kitchen because you just wanted to meet community service requirements, that would not be an activity you would want to take up.
On the other hand, if you have started a fundraiser or volunteer group at your school that provides food and needed supplies to needy and homeless people in your community, you should definitely include this activity. The difference between these two examples highlights which qualities are valued most by the Coca Cola Scholarship 2021 Committee.
The former example shows a desire to help others in their own community, while the latter example shows someone passionate about community service and creating a system that can help others in their community with greater impact.
For Semi-Finalists: Highlight Your Most Important Interests And Personal Qualities
Were you selected as a Coca Cola semi-finalist? First of all, congratulations! Second, if you are selected as a semi-finalist, you will be required to provide additional details about your leadership, ministry, dedication, and work, including impact statements, essays, and an online submission of a reference from someone who best appreciates your character and yours impact on your community.
The second part of the application process is to get to know you better, rather than just looking at a list of activities or awards. For this reason, your statements about the impact of your activities should highlight your most important experiences. Your essays should highlight your greatest interests and personal qualities.
In fact, one of the essay prompts even asks you which activity you would participate in if you could only participate in one activity. In your essays, you want to talk about experiences in your life that have shaped your interests and personal goals. Unique and honest personal essays will help you stand out from other candidates.
Also, be sure to request a recommendation from someone who can validate your personal qualities and commitment to your community, not just your work ethic or academic skills. For example, my referrer was my careers advisor because she was able to give me a more holistic view of myself, providing details on my extracurricular activities, personal characteristics, and academic abilities.
For Regional Finalists: Practice, Practice, Practice!
Were you selected as a regional Coca Cola finalist? congratulations! You have proven to be an exceptional candidate in 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 are alumni of Coca Cola Scholarship recipients and some employees of the Coca Cola Foundation Scholarship.
You have the option of conducting the interview in person or online. If you need to conduct an online interview, know that it won’t affect your application! (I had an online interview and my application was successful). During the interview, keep in mind that you may not have an opportunity to ask questions as you will likely be cut off after 20 minutes.
To prepare for the interview, be sure to review your application and become familiar 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 to feel more comfortable during the real job interview.
This interview will not be like a regular college alumni interview as all of your interviewers will have read your application thoroughly and will ask specific questions about specific parts of your application. Therefore, practicing will better prepare you to answer questions and will make you feel more relaxed.
Finally, remember that the application process, especially the interview, can be subjective and unpredictable, so give yourself a pat on the back for making it this far. Much luck!
First Generation Coca Cola Scholarship
Are you the first in your family to attend college or university? The Coca Cola First Generation Scholarship Program has awarded more than $19 million in scholarships to support students who are the first in their immediate families to enter college. The program has reached more than 1,000 students at approximately 400 US colleges and universities.
Interested students should contact the school they wish to attend to inquire if a First Generation Coca Cola Scholarship exists and, if so, to apply.
Coca Cola All State Community College Academic Team Program
400 Coca-Cola Scholarships are available for students who attend or attend two-year colleges and wish to earn a two-year degree.
The student with the highest score in each of the fifty states is named a New Century Scholar and receives a $2,000 stipend from each college.
In addition, the remaining 350 students will be named Gold Scholars, who will receive a $1,500 scholarship, or Silver Scholars, who will receive a $1,250 scholarship, or Bronze Scholars, who will receive a $1,000 coca cola scholarships obtain.
A state can have multiple gold, silver, or bronze scholarship recipients, making this one of the best community college scholarship programs. All scholars will also receive special medallions.
Coke Community College Scholarship Eligibility Requirements
It is the responsibility of the College’s Financial Aid Department to nominate applicants, but students may inform the office if they are interested in nominating.
To qualify for a nomination, students should have a GPA of at least 2.5, be US citizens, have certification from the school that they have volunteered in the past twelve months, and intend to do at least the following semester to take two courses.
To qualify for these programs, students must submit an application to the All-USA Community College Academic Team/Coca Cola Community College Academic Team.
What’s Next?
On a mission to find other scholarship funding opportunities? You are in the right place! Check out our strategy guides to get the Tylenol, Gates Millennium, Walmart and McDonald’s grants.
There are tons of scholarships out there! If you need help finding more, take a look at our expert guide to finding college scholarships.
More information about this Coca Cola scholarship program is available online at: www.applyonlinegrants.com or you can go to directly to the website: https://www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org/apply/
For more information on how to apply for a Coca Cola Scholarship, please call: 1-800-306-2653.