LMSA PLUS National Scholarships

Applications for 2024 will open December 2023.

For LMSA National Scholarship awards, the following will be considered in the selection process: personal qualities, financial need, academic excellence, and extracurricular achievement.

The general eligibility requirements are as follows:

Eligibility

  • Eligible applicants must demonstrate a commitment to pursuing a health professional degree (MD or DO, unless otherwise indicated) and serving the Hispanic, Latina/o/x, and other underserved communities in the United States.
    • Applicants should demonstrate a desire to advance the state of healthcare and education for the aforementioned communities through leadership in extracurricular activities and/or membership in civic organizations.
  • Unless otherwise indicated, eligible applicants must satisfy one of the following:
    1. Be actively enrolled in a medical school accredited by the U.S. Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) at the time the award is given, or
    2. Have an active application to LCME- or AOA-accredited medical schools that has been verified by AMCAS or AACOMAS for the Fall term immediately following the date of award.
  • Each applicant must be an active dues-paying member of LMSA National.
    • To check your membership status, please sign into our member management profile here using the email address associated with your membership. Unfamiliar with this process? Visit this page for more information.
  • Note: applicants are eligible to receive the scholarship regardless of ethnic background or immigration status. DACA students are encouraged to apply.

Please refer to the specific application for each scholarship for additional details. LMSA National reserves the right to withdraw or withhold scholarship funds pending submission of necessary documents.

Important: It is the student’s responsibility to submit a complete application including all supporting documents by the deadline; extensions will NOT be granted. Incomplete or late application materials will result in ineligibility.

The Carmen Reyes Scholarship honors the life and legacy of Carmen Reyes, a loving mother. This scholarship was created to help support women who identify as low-income pre-medical students from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine and who are working towards becoming physicians to narrow healthcare disparities. Black, Afro-Latina, Latina, and Native pre-medical students are especially encouraged to apply. This scholarship will award 2 students with the full cost of registering to take the MCAT exam.

ELIGIBILITY:
Open to all who identify as women from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine as defined by the AAMC.
Black, Afro-Latina, Latina and Native applicants are especially encouraged to apply.
Pre-med, post-baccalaureate students, gap year students.
Desire to reduce healthcare disparities.
Student must plan to take the MCAT within 1 year of receiving this scholarship.
Register (for free, more info in application) as an LMSA National Member.

APPLICATION MATERIALS:
500 word short answer essay (answered on this form).
Personal Statement (1 page, 12 pt. font, 1-inch margins).
CV/Resume [Max 2 Pages]
One letter of recommendation from a mentor/professor/community member.***
Unofficial Transcript from your undergraduate institution (you may include additional post bacc transcripts if you wish).
Please submit a letter from your school stating that you qualify for financial need aid as assessed by FAFSA.
LMSA National Membership Registration.

Please email all of the following documents to the Scholarship Chair at: scholarship@lmsa.net. Attach all documents (4) in one email:
Personal Statement: Please write a one-page statement that answers why you want to become a physician. (Title your file: Last Name_First Name_PersonalStatement.pdf)
CV/Resume: Upload your most relevant CV including community service, research, leadership, and clinical experiences. Make sure to include clear headings for experiences. (Title your file: Last Name_First Name_CV.pdf) [Max 2 Pages]
Transcript: Most current unofficial or official transcript. (Title your file: Last Name_First Name_Transcript.pdf)
Letter of financial need aid from your undergraduate university Financial Aid Office. (Title your file: Last Name_First Name_Financial_aid_letter_.pdf)

Please have your letter writer separately email their letter of recommendation to: scholarship@lmsa.net

Application questions and other inquiries should be sent to scholarship@lmsa.net. You should receive an email confirmation after you submit your application. If you do not receive a confirmation, please email us right away.

We look forward to reading your application!

Award Recipients

Carmen Reyes MCAT Scholarship

2023

Lizbeth is currently studying Neurobiology with certificates in Disability Rights and Services and Health and the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a research assistant at the Learning, Cognition, and Development Lab, researching how multiple language exposures impacts children’s language acquisition. She hopes to become a pediatrician and help low-income, Spanish-speaking communities.

My name is Ana Q. Reyes Rodriguez. I will be graduating this upcoming May with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and minors in Chemistry and Biology. After graduation, I will take two gap years while I study for the MCAT, work as a medical scribe and continue to shadow and volunteer. Furthermore, during my gap years I hope to do research in cardiovascular diseases. In the future, I hope that I can achieve my dream of becoming a physician in the field of cardiology or surgery while providing mentorship for those who are also pursuing a career in medicine and come from a similar background as me. Moreover, my goals include creating a scholarship foundation to provide financial assistance to low income students pursuing a career in medicine and also to create community programs that provide access to affordable healthcare in marginalized communities.

Priscilla Gonzalez is a first-generation college graduate from UC San Diego. She received her degree in Human Biology in 2022 and is currently studying for the medical college admissions test. Often serving as her family’s sole interpreter, she realized that language barriers between patients and physicians discouraged Latinos from seeking medical attention. She is passionate about decreasing language barriers in the medical field and advocating for future patients.

My name is Shelda Salomon, I am from Kent, WA and I am a senior at Gonzaga University. Currently, I am working on obtaining my B.A. in bachelors with a minor in psychology. My next step is prepping for medical school where I would pursue a M.D./ MPH. In the future, I hope to someday go to developing countries and give medical care to people who do not have access to proper care.

Jessica Nunez is a first-generation college student who graduated from UCLA with a double major in Cognitive Science and Spanish, Community and Culture. She is currently preparing to take the MCAT and working as a health educator at a federally qualified center. Jessica is strongly passionate about the intersection of medicine, community health, and social justice; she strives to become a physician advocate in underserved communities.

Matiza Sacotingo graduated from Wesleyan University in May 2021, where she majored in French Studies, minored in Chemistry; all while being on the pre-medical track. Matiza aims to use her four languages that she speaks: French, Portuguese, Spanish and English to provide quality healthcare to individuals, focusing on the uninsured/underinsured and those whose first language is not English. Outside of medicine, Matiza is a content creator and enjoys creating beauty, fashion and lifestyle content across all her social media platforms.

Kimberly Ontiveros Gomez is from San Diego and is a senior at UCSD. She comes from a low-income family who immigrated from Tijuana, Mexico. A teenage mother and non-traditional student, her path to medical school has not been easy. She has personally experienced the struggles underserved communities face in accessing healthcare. She is a medical assistant at Kaiser Permanente and plans to become a doctor to advocate for equitable healthcare.

Erika Venegas is a first-generation student from San Diego who graduated from UCLA in 2020 with a B.S. in Biology. She completed an informal post-bacc program through UCLA Extension and is now studying for the MCAT while also working as a clinical scribe at a community health center in her area. She hopes to one day become a primary care physician to address health disparities in underserved and low-income communities like her own.

Layan Ibrahim is an MPH student on the Global Health track at Vanderbilt. She attended Emory and majored in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. Layan is passionate about the intersection of neuroscience, global health, medicine, research, and technology. She plans to pursue an MD-PhD to achieve neurosurgical equity and to educate low and middle-income countries on the importance of neurological disorders such as epilepsy.

Diana Morales is a first-generation student and eldest daughter raised by immigrant parents. She graduated from UIC in 2020 and majored in Integrated Health with a Health and Science concentration. Diana is from Gage Park in Southwest Chicago. She strives to become a physician focused on reducing healthcare disparities. In her free time, Diana enjoys dancing and running.

Karen Linares is from East Los Angeles, CA, and grew up with her Mexican immigrant parents and two younger brothers. Karen’s goal is to become a practicing physician in medically underserved communities. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Williams College.

Noelia Saldierna is a Junior at Oral Roberts University, majoring in Medical Molecular Biology and minoring in Psychology and Biochemistry. Her dream is to one day serve her Hispanic community as a primary care physician and inspire her fellow pre-med students to keep persevering!

Natalie Cordero is currently a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia double majoring in Global Public Health and Medical Anthropology. She is an Afro-Dominican first-generation student committed to serving Black and Brown communities who have a history of marginalization in the Americas and whose health has been disproportionately affected as a result of it.