Aarush Goyal, a senior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 Coca-Cola Scholars Program.
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is the largest corporate-sponsored, achievement-based scholarship program in the United States, according to Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation website. It is a joint effort of Coca-Cola bottlers across the country and The Coca-Cola Company.
Goyal of Bentonville said being selected as a semifinalist was an honor. “It means a lot to have my hard work and dedication recognized by such a respected program,” he said. “More than anything, it’s humbling to know that my efforts to make a difference in my school and community are being acknowledged among so many other inspiring students.”
The program selected 1,238 semifinalists from a pool of more than 107,000 applicants. The semifinalists pool will be narrowed to 250 Regional Finalists in early January 2026 to take part in online interviews. From those, 150 students will be named Coke Scholars-select in February and invited to attend the Coca-Cola Scholars Weekend in Atlanta in April. Upon completion of the Scholars Weekend, the students will be named official Coca-Cola Scholars and receive a $20,000 scholarship.
Goyal said he was working in a lab at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences when he received an email from The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.
“I had just wrapped up an experiment and decided to check my inbox,” Goyal said. “When I saw the message from The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, I opened it with a mix of nerves and excitement. The moment I read that I was moving on as a semifinalist, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was such a rewarding feeling.”