‘Do It Scared’: PCOM South Georgia Student Shares Her Journey to Medical School

September 17, 2026

Taking the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and submitting a personal statement are standard parts of the medical school application process. But for one PCOM South Georgia student, entering medical school was a deeply personal journey that she now shares online with thousands of followers.

Flora Heydari (DO '29), a second-year Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) student in Moultrie, spent her early childhood in a suburb of Paris, France, before moving to Marietta, Georgia, with her father. What began as a big move became an even harder chapter in Heydari's life as her family dynamic shifted after her father remarried.

“I became homeless my junior year of high school for a few months after the relationship with my father, who had primary custody of me, deteriorated,” she said. “My education was the only constant in my life; it gave me something to focus on. When things got hard, I would dream of what my life would look like in 20 years.”

Without a stable place to live or access to a computer, Heydari spent hours studying at a public playground. Eventually, a friend's grandfather, Clair Stone, took her in and provided her with a home and her first laptop. They helped her navigate school and introduced her to new experiences, including her lifelong love of dogs. Years later, he would even walk her down the aisle at her wedding as her legal guardian.

“It is because of him that I made it to medical school,” Heydari said. “He has absolutely changed my life.”
She went on to attend Georgia State University, where she majored in neuroscience and graduated in 2021. Over the next several years, she prepared for and took the MCAT multiple times, determined to earn a competitive score.

“You only get seven attempts in a lifetime,” she said. “But every time, my scores increased. The rule of thumb in the medical school application world is that you are less competitive after three times, but I was determined.”

Rather than keeping those setbacks private, Heydari has made them a central part of the story she shares online. On TikTok, where she posts as @flora.oms2, she talks openly about her MCAT experience, offers tips for pre-med students, and helps applicants consider how to share their stories with admissions. She also shares glimpses of daily life as a medical student at PCOM South Georgia.

“I want to encourage others to keep going despite their setbacks,” she said. “I do fight pre-med toxicity that says, ‘Medical school is so hard that you cannot do it.’ I use my story as an example. My page is positive, but it is raw and real about the struggles I used to learn and grow from.”

At the same time, Heydari recognizes that social media can be an intimidating place for aspiring medical students. She encourages pre-med students to be mindful of the accounts they follow and to avoid comparing their experiences with others.

“Be careful online. Medical school experiences are highly subjective; yours will not match others’. Don't compare yourself,” she said. “It can be scary, especially on Reddit. I once made a video saying that Scooby-Doo was scared in every episode, but he did it scared,” she said. “Do it scared, but get excited and know that your experience may be as positive as mine.”

Today, she is the President of the Student Interest Group of Neurology at PCOM South Georgia, the Secretary of the Geriatrics Club, and a Student Ambassador. After medical school, she hopes to become a neurologist.

“The brain is a complex organ, one that is not fully understood even now,” Heydari said. “In neurology, there is no single treatment for everything, but we can identify root causes, help patients manage their symptoms, and support a good quality of life.”

She hopes to build her medical career in the Eastern United States, ideally in Georgia, before eventually retiring to France. For now, though, Heydari is focused on her education and the community she has found at PCOM South Georgia.

“I couldn't do any of this without my friends and husband,” she said. “They have become such an important part of my support system. The people I have met in South Georgia have become part of my chosen family.”

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