Lina and Jitendra Shah Scholarship
Offered by Drs. Lina and Jitendra Shah and The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society
About this scholarship
The Lina and Jitendra Shah Scholarship will award $5,000 each to four first-year medical students and one second-year medical student for 2026-2027. Drs. Lina and Jitendra Shah fund the program, and The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society administers the five awards. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents and must have established Pennsylvania residency for at least 12 months before registering as medical students, excluding time spent in the state only for previous college study. At the time of application, they must live in Philadelphia County or in Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, or Bensalem Township in lower Bucks County. Candidates must be entering or attending their first or second year full time at a fully accredited Pennsylvania medical school. The direct portal requires two nonfamily recommendations, a school-letterhead enrollment-verification letter, and an essay of no more than 750 words about the applicant’s goals and expectations in medicine. One reference must be an undergraduate college or university professor or a physician. The application window opened July 1 and closes September 30, 2026. The committee plans to notify applicants in November, and the official count distinguishes the four first-year awards from the single second-year award.
Eligibility
- Be a United States citizen or legal permanent resident
- Have been a Pennsylvania resident for at least 12 months before registering as a medical student, excluding time there for prior college study
- Reside in Philadelphia County, Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, or Bensalem Township when applying
- Be entering or enrolled in the first or second year at a fully accredited Pennsylvania medical school
- Attend medical school full time
- Submit two nonfamily references, including one from an undergraduate professor or physician
- Provide an enrollment-verification letter and a goals-in-medicine essay of 750 words or fewer
- Apply through solicitation 211 by September 30, 2026