How much does Coca Cola Scholarship weigh into college admissions? Today I was notified I was selected as a semifinalist for the Coca Cola Scholarship (1,200/130,000 become semi-finalists or almost 1% of applicants.) I originally planned on applying Early Decision 1 to NYU Steinhardt, as it’s easier to get into than the other NYU schools, to increase my chances of getting into NYU. However, considering how self-selecting Coca Cola Scholars is, I imagined a majority of the people applying to Coca Cola would also be applying to prestigious schools like NYU. Since I was selected as the top 1% of those students, it feels validating and makes me a little more confident to apply to CAS within NYU instead of Steinhardt. How much would being a Coca Cola Scholar semi-finalist weigh into my application and is my perception of self-selection true?
I’ve posted my application profile on here before if that would be helpful to reference to when considering if it would help my chances.
I don’t think this weighs at all into college admission, nor would I bring it up.
It just means that an independent third party has moved you to another round. It changes nothing about your personal accomplishments or does nothing to enhance your application, in my opinion.
What you’ve accomplished in your life is what will you get you into college.
I can’t say whether it will help you in admissions at X school, but becoming a semifinalist is a well recognized achievement that you should include on the common app. Congrats and good luck!
ETA:with regard to NYU, I would apply to the school that has the major you want to study and that your profile best fits.
Coca Cola Semifinalist IS a big accomplishment. I’m sure National Merit Semifinalists all list their NMSF status as an award, and Coca Cola is a bigger deal than that. OP should definitely list it.
Yes, absolutely list it. And congrats – Coca-Cola semifinalist is a huge deal! (Just a parent, not an expert, but I’m from the land of Coca-Cola, LOL.)
But I peeked at your stats on the other thread, and in terms of bumping your chances enough to switch from NYU Steinhardt to CAS – I’m not sure about that. It seems like your extracurriculars align naturally with the major you listed in Steinhardt, and NYU will make the decision based on how well your application fits with what you’re applying for.
I’m not familiar with how much more selective it is to get into CAS over Steinhardt, but if you’re saying it’s much harder – then I wouldn’t switch. Coca-Cola semifinalist is great, but no one award is enough to make an application a sure thing. And there’s no way to quantify a holistic process, unfortunately.
You’d be a fool not to reference this in the application. Winning Coca-Cola, or any other recognition, such as NMSF or NMF, is no guarantee of admission to any college. However, I’m quite sure that NYU is interested in maintaining its pipeline of Coca-Cola semifinalists & winners that enroll - maintaining or enhancing the university’s profile.
NYU is a “reach” school. I believe that if NYU is interested in you, it doesn’t matter which school or major you apply to. The CAS applicant pool is much larger than the Steinhardt applicant pool which is more specialized & targeted. Apply to the college that offers the program you are interested in.
NYU also offers over 40 Bachelor’s-Master’s tracks, in case you decide you want to also earn a graduate degree in just one year. (2 NYU diplomas!)
Thank you so much! Very helpful. I worded my thoughts inaccurately to what I was actually thinking. I’m not very confident going into the admissions process simply because it wasn’t until early junior year I realized I wanted to attend college. However, being selected as the top 1% of over 113,000 applicants who, likely, are applying to top schools, it feels validating to know there’s something about me that set me apart from the other HIGHLY qualified applicants. I don’t believe the Media, Culture, and Communication major at NYU could fit any better with my profile; I think each one of my EC’s and essays meet those three pillars in someway. My extracurriculars don’t fully align with the career I want to pursue in the future, but because my profile isn’t as weak as I originally presumed it to be, I was left wondering if I should apply to CAS where I could major in something I’m 100% interested in.
Thank you for the kind words! P.S. I’m sticking with applying to MCC at Steinhardt.
If you were taken aback, then why did you ask the question? In other words, if you knew the answer or knew what you wanted/were going to hear, why would you ask the question to begin with?
My opinion is awards are given for what you accomplished - so Coca Cola, based on their criteria, is recognizing you for being an outstanding and contributory individual.. Others will see the activities you did. It’s what you did that is impressive, not that a third party recognizes it. That’s my opinion, right or wrong. In other words, if you walk dogs at the shelter or help at a Senior home, you won’t get an award - but they are fantastic activities, etc. that a college will recognize.
Being named a semi finalist - you are one of 1300 or so, from a pool that applied. I don’t think someone says - ooh - we have to have them based on that.
You asked for an opinion. That’s my opinion. Others disagree.
I did note that if you listed it, it would be no harm but I don’t see a lift which others said is possible as well (that you won’t get a lift).
If you get to finalist, it will likely be after your college applications are submitted but some allow you to update if they haven’t yet provided an answer.
But it’s odd to me you would say you were taken aback - given that you asked the question.
There are often a variety of opinions. Just because many say something vs. one doesn’t make the many right or because I say something against many, that I’m right.
What you got are - opinions. We are not adcoms. And adcom isn’t a black and white thing because at each school they are likely different in how they think and what they value.
Your question was about NYU colleges, which I can’t speak to, but I will add that my D27 was also selected as a Coca Cola Scholars Semifinalist and will be including it on her applications. Her college counselor just told her this morning to make sure to include it and also said all of the past semifinalists from her high school have done the same. Congratulations and good luck in the next round!
I didn’t say I don’t see it as being non impressive. And I congratulated them and hoped they went further. But I said being one of 1300 - I don’t see someone saying, I need to have that person.. That’s what I said.
I said, I don’t see it as value to an application. Others disagreed but noted it doesn’t mean it will help.
I also said if you list it, it won’t hurt.
I’m simply saying - the recognition is for what you did, what you accomplished. That’s what the colleges will see/reward.
Even if they never applied to be a Coke Scholar, those things would be seen and recognized.
Different people think differently.
But please don’t falsely state what I think or said.
It’s a public board. My opinion is different. It doesn’t mean everyone has to attack me for having an opinion you disagree with.
It also means you don’t have to come back here four more times to reiterate and try to explain your opinion. You stated yours, everyone else felt differently. Let it go. You don’t always need to get the last word.
OMG making it to the Coca Cola scholarship semifinalist status is a HUGE accomplishment! Congratulations and absolutely absolutely mention it on all of your applications @boardingquestion
Because the privilege of the last word belongs to me. And my last word is that every further response must be addressed directly to the OP. That includes a strict prohibition on posts that dedicate 15 paragraphs to the original poster while trying to sneak in a paragraph to rebut another user yet again.