Liam Payne, right, says that competing in The Master Interview competition gave him confidence in his interviews for medical school.

Liam Payne’s path to medical school started at a large Christian university in California. 

The school’s impressive size, array of programs, and spiritual focus appealed to Payne. He wanted to receive a sound biblical education and rigorous academic training. And he thought this was the place. 

There was only one problem. 

“It’s hard to tell what the spiritual life on campus is really like until you’re there in person,” he said. 

Payne wasn’t encouraged by what he heard in chapel, and it didn’t help that his twin sister, Claire, was having a very different experience at The Master’s University.  

“Master’s is so unique in that way,” Liam said. “Talking to her about what I was experiencing in chapel compared to what she was hearing in chapel — the speakers, the positive spiritual influence she was receiving — I knew I had to transfer.” 

After one semester, Payne made the move to TMU, where he says he grew in his walk with Christ, was prepared for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and medical school, and even met his wife. 

Payne, who graduated summa cum laude from TMU in 2023, was accepted recently to Loma Linda University School of Medicine, where he’ll start classes in July. 

Payne’s goal is to one day work as an orthopedic surgeon. So when he came to TMU he enrolled as a biological science major with a pre-med emphasis. Looking back, he says he loved his time in TMU’s science program, which offered small, welcoming class settings and professors who “really care.” 

“You sit in the back of a lecture hall with 100 kids and then switch to TMU, where the largest class as a freshman is 30 kids. And by the time you’re a senior, you’ve had the same professors two to three times, and you’re in a class with five kids,” Payne said. “The professors at TMU really care about the way in which you’re learning and if you’re learning, and you get to know them.

“It’s a sweet program in that way. You’re so invested in by your science professors.”

Payne says another strong point of TMU’s pre-med program is a teaching model focused on application, not simply on regurgitating facts. 

“A lot of older medicine programs are centered on recall — as in, can you remember what this molecule is?” Payne said. “Practically, that’s mostly useless in the real world. You can look those things up. My professors did a good job of teaching me concepts that can be applied to things I haven’t seen before.” 

Payne says that form of nimble thinking served him well on the MCAT. He passed the test on his first attempt. 

But that was only the first step of getting into medical school. Payne says that during the process of applying to schools, he received help from TMU’s Office of Career Services. Staff members there helped refine his resume and letter of intent for applications. Payne also participated in The Master Interview, a competition organized by Career Services, in which students applied for fictional jobs, giving elevator pitches and sitting for interviews. Payne advanced to the event’s finale, where he was interviewed by industry professionals in front of a live audience. 

Afterward, he received feedback on his mannerisms and the verbiage he used. He says the experience gave him confidence going into interviews for medical school. 

He also benefited from a well-rounded resume, which included the research he performed under the guidance of TMU professors. In his personal statement, he talked about his work as a dorm resident assistant, which honed his leadership abilities. 

Ultimately, Payne says the training he received at TMU transcended academics.

“The longer I was at Master’s, the more I became convinced of and practically lived out the truth that every aspect of our lives is to be guided by Scripture and to be done in faith,” he said. “I knew I needed to submit even the little things in my life to the Lord.”

That growth was spurred on by discipleship Payne received from his resident director and by consistent encouragement from his dormmates.

“The most profitable thing was the daily immersion among believers who are actively helping you in your sanctification,” he said. 

Payne formed friendships that have continued after graduation. One relationship in particular stands out. He met Olivia Buchan in a chemistry class in 2020. They got to know each other better in — of all places — Organic Chemistry and were married shortly after graduation in 2023. Payne’s resident director officiated the ceremony. 

Payne says he has already applied things he learned in an elective course he took at TMU, Marriage and Family, to this new stage of his life. 

Now, he’s on to the next step of his education. 

Learn more about TMU’s pre-med program, at masters.edu/pre-med.