Dental School Interview Formats by School (2026-27)

Dental School Interview Formats by School (2026-27)

US dental school interviews are not one format. UCSF and UIC run closed-file interviews, Kentucky uses a panel that includes students, Iowa uses timed one-on-two interviews, Hunt SDM's Fall 2024 sheet lists MMI stations, and Utah interviews "only" in person. The table below sets out 12 schools from their own pages.

Format decides preparation. A closed-file interviewer has not read your essay, so you have to retell it in two minutes. A panel with students in it adds people who would be your classmates. One generic prep plan fits neither. Every page below is the school's own, checked on November 7, 2026.

Format table from schools' own pages

"Not stated" means the school's page does not say. We also tried the Michigan, Ohio State and Harvard dental admissions pages; all three returned HTTP 403 to us on November 7, 2026, so they are not in the table. Your interview invitation is the format notice that counts; read it before you plan.

Interview details for the four Texas dental schools are on our TMDSAS dental page.

Closed file vs open file: how to prepare for each

Closed file means the interviewer has not read your application. UCSF says why: "To ensure a fair and holistic evaluation, interviewers do not have access to your written application." UIC describes its interviews as "typically closed file".

Open file means the interviewer may have read it. None of the 12 pages above says its interviews are open file. Kentucky comes closest in spirit, describing its panel as "a chance for the Admissions Committee to become acquainted with candidates beyond the application." Hunt's Fall 2024 sheet says interviewers "want to learn more about you, outside of what you have included in your application."

Our view: prepare as if every interview is closed file. The basis is that two schools say so outright and none of the 12 says the opposite. A closed-file answer still works in front of a reader who knows your file; an answer that leans on "as I wrote in my essay" fails in front of one who does not. The countercase: if your invitation says the interviewer has your file, expect a question about a specific line, such as an activity or a gap, and reread your application the night before.

Decision procedure:

1. Read the invitation. If it names the format or file status, use that.
2. If it says closed file, or says nothing: prepare a two-minute retelling of your main story (example below), plus one evidence sentence for each competency the school names. UCSF names four: "Motivation", "Self-awareness", "Problem-solving and critical thinking" and "Collaboration, teamwork, and leadership".
3. If it says open file: reread your personal statement, experiences and secondary answers, and prepare one sentence on anything that looks like a gap.
4. If it names an MMI or group activity: practise the station structure on the dental school MMI and ethics scenarios page.

Constructed example: a two-minute closed-file retelling

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): the applicant's personal statement is about working at a free clinic. The interviewer asks, "Tell me why you want to be a dentist."

"For two years I volunteered at a free clinic in Fresno on Saturday mornings. Most of my job was intake: I asked patients what hurt and how long it had hurt. One man told me his tooth had hurt for eight months and he had kept working because he drove a delivery truck and could not lose the shifts. When the dentist extracted it, he said it was the first full night's sleep he would get since spring.

That is when I understood that most of the pain I saw was preventable, and that the people who had it were the ones least able to take a day off for it. I want to be the person who can both fix it and help prevent the next one. I spent my last year adding the science I was missing, and I now assist at a community health center so I know the daily work, not just the Saturday version."

That is 159 words, a little over a minute spoken at a normal pace, which leaves room for a follow-up inside two minutes. It works without the essay: one place, one person, one result, one conclusion, and what the applicant did next. For more questions by competency, see dental school interview questions and answers.

The interview-day writing task

UCSF is the one school in our table that publishes a writing task: the student interview, virtual or in person, includes "a 30-minute writing exercise". UCSF does not publish the prompt or say how it is used.

Our recommendation: write two timed practice responses before interview day, 30 minutes each, by hand or in a plain text editor with no spell-check. Use the kind of prompt your secondary essays answered: a challenge, a team you worked on, a reason for dentistry. Aim for a clear first sentence, one example and a short conclusion, about 300 to 400 words. Your practice answers are a good fit for the dental secondary short-answer rubric, which reads whether a short answer does the question's exact job with one bounded example.

Unknown: whether UCSF compares the exercise with your application essays. Its page does not say. Write in your own voice either way, so the two sound like the same person.

Virtual interviews

From the table:

• Virtual: Columbia (Zoom, Fridays), UIC (virtual through March 2027), UCSF's faculty interview (Zoom).
• Either: UCSF's student interview; Iowa's single virtual day alongside its in-person season.
• In person only: Utah.
• In person, planned for 2026-27: UNC.

UIC adds a rule that applies to any virtual interview: "It is UIC policy not to allow recording of the interview of any type. This can disqualify a candidate."

Our setup checklist for a Zoom interview:

1. Camera at eye level, face lit from the front.
2. Wired connection or the strongest Wi-Fi spot; phone hotspot ready as backup.
3. Your display name set to your full name.
4. Notifications off, door closed, a printed copy of your questions for them.
5. A test call with a friend the day before, on the same device and room.
6. No recording of any kind.

Student interviewers and the panel

Three schools in the table put a current student in your interview: UCSF ("one with a current student"), UT Health San Antonio ("a third-or fourth-year student") and Kentucky (panels include "students"). UIC's day includes "a student panel."

UCSF's student interview is not optional: "You must complete both interviews—faculty and student—to advance in the review process. Missing either interview indicates withdrawal of interest, and your application will be removed from consideration."

Our view: prepare for the student interview as seriously as the faculty one. UCSF's page says both interviews "are evaluated by members of the Admissions Committee" against the same four competencies. A student interviewer is also the person best placed to notice if you would be hard to work beside in clinic, so let the teamwork example you prepare show you making a teammate's job easier.

What to wear and the day's schedule

None of the 12 pages sets a dress code. Our recommendation: a dark suit or equivalent business wear, closed-toe shoes you can walk a clinic tour in, minimal fragrance. On Zoom, the same top half and a plain background.

Schedules are not published beyond what is in the table: UCSF's in-person student option includes "a campus tour, a 30-minute writing exercise, and lunch with student club leaders"; Pitt's day includes department presentations and a chance to "interact with our current dental students and tour the School of Dental Medicine facilities"; UT Health San Antonio includes a chance to "meet with enrolled students over lunch." Behave on the tour and at lunch as you would in the interview room: at UCSF and UT Health San Antonio, students also sit on the interview side.

Questions about dental interview formats

What is a closed-file dental school interview?

The interviewer has not read your application. UCSF and UIC say their interviews are closed file.

Which dental schools interview only in person?

Utah says "Interviews are only offered in-person." UNC says it plans in-person interviews for 2026-27. Of the other 10 schools, Columbia, UIC, UCSF and Iowa state a virtual or Zoom option; the rest do not say.

Does any dental school have a writing test on interview day?

UCSF's student interview includes "a 30-minute writing exercise". No other page we checked describes one.

Do student interviewers count?

At UCSF, yes: both interviews are evaluated, and missing either one removes your application.

Review the writing you send next

The next thing you write is a timed response on interview day or an update letter after it. Get a free Quick Review of your secondary essay against GradPilot's dental secondary short-answer rubric, which checks whether an answer does its question's exact job with one bounded example; it suits a practice writing exercise too. After the interview, send your letter through the letter of intent and interest rubric or the update letter rubric.

More dental interview guides:

• Dental school interview thank-you email: who to thank, including student interviewers.
• Dental school MMI questions and ethics scenarios: station structure and six constructed scenarios.
• The dental secondary short-answer guide and the medical school essays hub. For advanced standing bench tests by program, see our CAAPID page.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• UCSF School of Dentistry, DDS Interview Candidates (no year stated): two interviews, closed file, Zoom, writing exercise, withdrawal rule.
• UIC College of Dentistry, How to Apply to the DMD Program (2026-2027 cycle): virtual season, closed file, student panel, no recording.
• University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Application Process (no year stated): one-on-two format, season, virtual day.
• University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, DMD Admissions (no year stated): panel format, season, 12 candidates per day.
• Columbia College of Dental Medicine, Apply (no year stated): Friday Zoom interviews.
• Penn Dental Medicine, DMD Admissions (2026-27 cycle): weekly interviews September through March.
• University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, DMD Admissions Process (no year stated): faculty interviews and presentations.
• University of Utah School of Dentistry, Interview (no year stated): in person only.
• UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, DDS Admissions (no year stated): faculty and student interviewers, season, lunch.
• Texas Tech El Paso Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Interview Tips (Fall 2024) and Admissions FAQ (no year stated): interview types and season.
• UCLA School of Dentistry, Admission Selection Process (no year stated): interview season.
• UNC Adams School of Dentistry, DDS Admissions (2026-27 cycle): in-person interviews planned, September to November.
• University of Michigan, Ohio State and Harvard dental admissions pages: HTTP 403 on November 7, 2026; not quoted.