Early Acceptance To Med School

A guaranteed seat to medical school can sound like a shortcut, but the real story is what you do with the breathing room. We talk with Son of Zolfakar about his early acceptance journey to LECOM, from growing up around medicine to confronting the quiet fear a lot of premed students carry: “What if I’m not smart enough?” He breaks down how he found the program, why he trusted it, and what changed once the path felt real.

We also get practical about the undergraduate game plan. Son shares how Cal State Fullerton’s Finish in 4 structure and a LECOM-affiliated advisor helped him map each semester, register for the right classes on time, and adjust when prerequisites like physics threatened the timeline. He explains why taking anatomy and physiology before starting medical school “honestly saved” him, and how that kind of course sequencing can make the first year less brutal.

Then we zoom out to the bigger tradeoff: what happens when you are not living under MCAT and application stress. Son talks about using that time for leadership and community, including starting a Pakistani Student Association, staying involved with the Muslim Student Association, and volunteering, while still preparing for the reality of boards. He also shares how LECOM’s lecture-based pathway and systems-based curriculum helped him retain information and build confidence heading into exams.

If you are exploring an early assurance program, a premed pathway, or just trying to decide how to make the road to becoming a physician more sustainable, this conversation offers both perspective and real tactics. Subscribe for more student stories, share this with a premed who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest question about early acceptance to medical school.

Transcript

Meet The Guest And Background

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I'm here with Son of Zolfakar from California. And you went to Northern California for high school, Southern California for college.

Finding LECOM And Applying Early

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

And you were early acceptance into LeeCom, so kind of talk to us about your path.

Planning Undergrad With Finish In 4

Fixing Prereqs And Taking Anatomy

SPEAKER_01 0:13

So I found out about LeeCom through a family friend. They they went through the whole LeeCom program when they were in residency. And I talked to the mom and also the student that went to LeeCom, and he had nothing but good things to say. And I always knew I wanted to be a physician because I was around my dad's a physician, so I was around that environment, and it was always something that fascinated me. But my biggest concern was if I was smart enough to go to medical school. Um smart enough in the sense of taking on the right test or yeah, like the getting the right MCAT score, having the perfect GPA, having the perfect um extracurricular activities and things like that. And I found out through Leecom, uh found out about LeeCom, so I decided to apply because I knew that I wanted to be a doctor and this was an early acceptance program. So I applied and I got in, and then I went to Cal State Fullerton and I met with the advisor there that's affiliated with LeeCom, and she told me to apply to the Fullerton Finish in 4 program, which allowed me to finish within four years, because sometimes in um state schools you take a little longer because it's hard to get classes. So it gave me the ability to registrate, register for my classes earlier, a little earlier than um regular registration. So I was allowed to get my classes in time. And that also allowed me to take other classes outside of the major that I um was pursuing for LeCom. Um and then after that I went to uh the Erie campus and then did LDP.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

I'm gonna ask this question I haven't asked somebody else yet. Yeah. Did you take many college classes like dual credit in high school?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

I I did not. I didn't I did not take um because I know in high school you can take classes at community college and then those credits can transfer into your degree. I did take AP classes.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

But there's a certain score you're supposed to get in order for them to understood, but that's how you receive your challenge through the AP courses in high school.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yes, and then just then just because you talk about the four. It caught my attention when you said the getting the four and four.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Yeah, four and four, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Uh and so just curious about because um in in our area it's kind of common to be able to carry some of those hours in.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Um, but I was just curious about that. Um, so talk about your path, um, Cal State Fullerton. Um, when you were there, you met with your advisor, a lee-con representative, and that seems like kind of a common theme as well. Um, the path then, was it kind of what you everything on paper? Did it kind of line up once you got to Cal State Fullerton?

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Um, for the most part, yes. Uh she gave me a piece of paper that outlined every class I should take every semester. Um, and I followed that to a T, but there were some times where I I moved things around. Like I I was unaware of like the physics um credit that I needed. So I ended up taking it over the summer so then I could take anatomy before I started medical school. That's right. So that wasn't in the plan per se, but she did look, she told me that you know you need to take physics, you need to do that, and how you do that.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

So, what did you have to take anatomy in college?

SPEAKER_01 3:30

No, so anatomy was one of the classes that I was able to take because I I was doing the the classes recommended by LeeCom, and then I had room and time to do other things other than um just the standard biology degree. So I decided to save room to take anatomy and physiology the last semester of undergrad to then because I knew I was starting medical school in the fall, and it honestly saved me. Like even though it was hard during then, it helped kind of ease the process in medical school when we had anatomy, and I like could recall that subject.

Stress Differences Without The MCAT

SPEAKER_00 4:11

So, like another benefit to the early entry where you were able to take courses ahead of time. We kind of heard that theme a lot today as well. Um, and so obviously having a parent uh in the medical field, you're gonna probably grow up and know other people. So do what other how do you compare the people's experiences, like maybe like cohorts that were going different, did they see more stress later in their college career, like undergrad trying to get in, and maybe you didn't feel that stress? I'm kind of leading you on a question here, but do you think did you see those sense those differences because you had those common conversations just going back to your house?

Curriculum Structure And Board Confidence

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Yeah, 100%. So my dad went to medical school out of country, so he went to Ireland and did that and did medical school there. So that he did that because he did not have good testing scores and like the GPN and everything like that. And also in undergrad, like my because we talked about how like in junior year you apply to medical school, everyone was applying to medical school, and I was able to do extra quick activities. So I started like a Pakistani student association, and then I was in the Muslim Student Association, and I volunteered my time. Like I was able to do things other than take the MCAT, which I was scared about because we in medical school you take boards and exams, and I I was afraid that because I didn't have the standardized MCAT test that a lot of medical students go through, I wasn't gonna be able to excel in medical school or on boards. But everything worked out because Leecom has such a great curriculum that I was in the lecture-based pathway. So it was um the way our subject the way our curriculum is was like subject second year. So it was like we had the GI system a certain amount of time and the respiratory a certain amount of time. So it allowed me when boards came around that I was able to keep up with that information and then eventually take boards.

Advice For Students Considering The Path

SPEAKER_00 6:09

It just seems like a very supportive system. Yeah. You know, I know as a superintendent coming in and trying to hear it like, is this for real? Like early entry, you don't take you kind of get dig deeper than to hear your all stories today has been a real good deal for me. Is there anything you'd like to share with anybody, like if the student is thinking about this that we haven't had a chance to cover today?

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Um, just that nothing worth doing is easy. And that was my biggest concern because I was like, maybe I'm not good enough to be a doctor. And Leecom provided a amazing pathway for me to explore other things in undergrad, but also be able to have a seat in medical school and allow me to become a doctor at at a a shorter time period because usually it takes time to apply to medical schools and and get in. And LeeCon was so accommodating. Allowed me to be where I am today.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Very good. Great story. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks for joining us and good luck to you.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Thank you so much.