Preparing for the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine interview

This is the most useful line DMU publishes about its interview, from its AACOM listing: "An interview will explore the applicant's personal characteristics (integrity, professionalism, compassion, work ethic, etc.) as well as the motivation required to pursue a career in medicine."

That gives you a short, concrete target.

The FAQ adds that interviews "assess academic preparation, motivation and fit for the program," so expect questions that start from your own application too.

Patient-care experience

DMU also states what it's selecting for overall: candidates with "the greatest potential for success in providing respectful and compassionate care as a future physician," and its admission requirements page says successful applicants typically have meaningful patient-care or shadowing experience, with clinical exposure recommended rather than required. If your patient-contact experience is thin, have an honest answer ready for what you learned from what you did do.

Neither is required.

• PREview. DMU's DO admissions process page says it encourages applicants to take the AAMC PREview professional readiness exam, and the AACOM listing says PREview is "highly encouraged" but "not a requirement."
• Casper and secondary. Neither page mentions Casper, and DMU-COM has no secondary (supplemental) application per AACOM.
• Letters. DMU also doesn't require a physician letter, according to the AACOM listing. You submit three recommendation letters through AACOMAS.

DMU publishes two versions, and they're close. The university mission, on its Mission, Vision and Values page and in the AACOM listing:

"To improve lives in our global community by educating diverse groups of highly competent and compassionate health professionals."

The College of Osteopathic Medicine page gives the college's own version:

"The College of Osteopathic Medicine has a mission to improve lives in our global community by educating diverse groups of highly competent and compassionate osteopathic physicians, health educators, researchers and scholars."

The five values

The university lists five values: Accountability, Collaboration, Honesty, Inclusiveness and Wellness. Notice how much overlap there is between those values and the traits the interview explores.

Honesty maps to integrity, accountability to professionalism and work ethic. You don't need to quote the mission in your answers.

It's more convincing to have a story where you owned a mistake (accountability) or were straight with someone when it cost you something (honesty), and let the interviewer make the connection.

DMU's main campus is now an 88-acre campus at 8025 Grand Avenue in West Des Moines. DMU's page says the DMU Clinic continues to serve the Greater Des Moines community at its separate location, 3200 Grand Avenue, so older articles that place the school at that address are out of date.

Since your interview is virtual, you'll see the campus in the dean's overview rather than in person, so if "why DMU" matters to you, read the COM and campus pages beforehand instead of hoping the presentation covers it.

Class size and stats

For scale: DMU's AACOM listing reports 227 first-year matriculants for 2025-26, 36 of them from Iowa and 191 from out of state.

DMU's admission requirements page says successful applicants typically have a cumulative GPA around 3.7, a science GPA near 3.6 and an MCAT around 507.

With about 84% of the class from outside Iowa, you don't need an Iowa connection, but you should be able to say why you'd move there for four years.

A single interviewer has time for follow-ups, and follow-ups are where rehearsed answers fall apart. This drill trains for that.

1. Build a story grid. Write the four traits DMU names (integrity, professionalism, compassion, work ethic) down the side of a page and your six strongest experiences across the top. Mark which experience proves which trait. Any trait with no mark is a gap to fix before interview day.
2. Two-minute cap. Answer questions 1 to 12 aloud with a timer. Anything over two minutes gets cut and re-recorded. The first version usually buries the point in setup.
3. Three follow-ups deep. Have a partner pick any answer and ask "why?" or "what would you do differently?" three times in a row. If you run out of true things to say by the second follow-up, the story is too thin or too polished. Pick a messier, more honest one.
4. Full run on video. Do one 30-minute session over Zoom from the room you'll use on the day, with a partner mixing questions from all five groups. Check your camera height, lighting and whether you look at the lens or the screen.

A worked example

Here's a fictional example of step 3 working. An applicant answers question 5 with a story about reporting an error in a lab's data log.

First follow-up: "Why did it matter if nobody would have noticed?" Second: "What did it cost you?"

If the honest answer to the second is "nothing," that's a weak integrity story, because integrity is easiest to show when there was a price. A better choice might be the time they told a supervisor they'd missed a deadline before anyone asked.

If you don't have a practice partner, Confetto's AI mock interviews run a traditional one-on-one format, ask follow-up questions, and give rubric-based feedback. You can start with a free trial.

For the 2026-27 cycle, DMU's AACOM listing shows the earliest submission date as May 4, 2026, and an AACOMAS deadline of April 30, 2027, with orientation on July 29, 2027.

DMU admits on a rolling basis and says early applicants "are more likely to be interviewed than those who apply later."

After the interview

After the interview, DMU emails one of three decisions: admit, alternate or release from consideration. It says the time to a decision "can vary throughout the cycle."

If you accept, DMU requires two nonrefundable $750 deposits, the second due by May 1, per the admissions process page.

Applying to other DO schools? See our guides for KCU-COM and LECOM.

Is the DMU interview an MMI?

No. It is a 30-minute live virtual interview with a DMU faculty member on the Kira Talent platform, plus a separate virtual dean's overview.

Is the DMU interview virtual?

Yes, virtual only. Interviews generally run from August to March.

Does DMU require Casper or PREview?

Neither is required. DMU encourages applicants to take the AAMC PREview.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Des Moines University. School details here come from DMU's public DO admissions pages and its AACOM listing, checked in October 2026.

Formats can change between cycles, so go by your interview invitation.