Updated Nov 9, 2026 · 14 min read

High Point University Dental School Interview Guide (2026-27)

Practice the High Point Dental interview now

Key facts (2026-27)

Format: Three 10-minute one-on-one interviews with faculty, the only graded part of the day
Where: In person on campus in High Point, North Carolina (no virtual interviews)
Length: About 3.5 hours on campus
Also required: Kira Talent one-way video assessment before an interview can be offered, A haptic dental procedure simulation, a flipped classroom group activity, a Q&A and a tour on interview day

Dates for 2026-27

Starting June-July, as late as November
Interview invitations
From August, ending no later than February
Interviews

Checked November 2026 against HPU Workman School of Dental Medicine: DMD Program FAQ and HPU Workman School of Dental Medicine: Interview Day Schedule. Confirm details in your invitation.

The High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine (WSDM) interview process has two steps: a mandatory asynchronous video assessment on Kira Talent, followed by an in-person, 3.5-hour interview day on campus in High Point, North Carolina for its cohort of 60 learners, according to HPU WSDM's official DMD FAQ. During the on-campus visit, you will complete three 10-minute one-on-one interviews with faculty (the only graded portion of the day), a haptic dental procedure simulation, a flipped classroom group activity, a Q&A session, and a tour of Workman Hall. The 2026-27 application closed on November 1, 2026, and the last day to finish the Kira assessment is November 8, 2026.

High Point University Dental School Application Process and 2026-27 Deadlines

High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine does not use the ADEA AADSAS application. Instead, HPU uses its own free application in the Slate portal on its website to remove financial barriers for applicants. The only required application cost is an estimated $50 one-time fee for the mandatory Kira Talent assessment.

HPU WSDM also takes a different approach to standard dental school requirements. The school does not require or accept DAT scores, and it does not accept letters of recommendation (including Interfolio or committee packets). You must have a US bachelor's degree (B.S. or B.A.) in any major prior to matriculation and a strict minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA, or a 3.0 or higher Master's degree GPA if your undergraduate GPA is below 3.0. While there is no standard minimum number of shadowing hours, having zero shadowing hours on your application will negatively affect your readiness rating.

Each cohort has 60 learners. Because HPU is a private dental school, there are no in-state or out-of-state quotas, and tuition is the same for all students at an estimated $85,000 to $89,000 per year inclusive of school-related fees. Approximately 30% of applicants live in North Carolina, with applicants representing 49 states. For the 2026-2027 cycle, all applicants must be permanent US residents with a US bachelor's degree and cannot require an F1 student visa, though H1B, H4, and DACA applicants are reviewed in-depth with proof of ability to fund their full education.

HPU Workman School of Dental Medicine 2026-2027 Admissions Overview

Admissions Feature	Official HPU WSDM Policy (2026-2027 Cycle)
Application Portal & Fee	HPU Slate portal (does not use ADEA AADSAS), $0 application fee
Kira Talent Assessment	Mandatory one-way video interview, estimated $50 one-time fee
Application & Kira Deadlines	Application due Nov 1, 2026 (11:59 PM ET), Kira due Nov 8, 2026
DAT & Letters of Recommendation	Neither required nor accepted in the application portal
Minimum GPA & Degree	3.0 cumulative undergrad GPA (or 3.0+ Master's GPA) and US B.S. or B.A. by matriculation
Cohort Size & Residency	60 learners per class, private school with no in-state or out-of-state quotas

May 1, 2026: Free HPU WSDM Slate application opens for the 2026-2027 cycle.
May to July 2026: Recommended early application window to be considered for early interviews and C.A.R.E. scholarships.
June to November 2026: Interview invitations go out on a rolling basis, starting in June and July for August dates. Interviews end no later than February 2027.
November 1, 2026 (11:59 PM ET): Final deadline to submit the HPU WSDM Slate application.
November 8, 2026: Last available date to complete the mandatory Kira Talent assessment.

Step 1: The Mandatory Kira Talent Assessment

Your application will not be considered for an on-campus interview until you complete the asynchronous assessment on Kira Talent. After you submit your Slate application, HPU sends your unique Kira invitation link within 72 hours. Once you receive the link, you have a two-week window to complete the assessment, and it must be finished no later than November 8, 2026. If you wait until November 1 to submit your application, our team notes that your completion window shrinks from 14 days to at most 7 days before the hard November 8 cutoff.

The Kira assessment is a one-way interview where you record timed video responses to pre-recorded questions from the WSDM team. Each question gives you a designated prep time and response time visible on your screen. You should set aside 30 to 45 minutes to complete the assessment in a single sitting, which includes a welcome video and unscored practice questions to help you get comfortable with the platform. You can use a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone with a working camera, microphone, speakers, and stable internet connection.

It takes approximately two weeks for your Kira assessment to be scored and marked complete in your applicant portal. You can only take the Kira assessment once per cycle, and you must retake it if you are a reapplicant. Kira Talent tracks browser refreshes, technical issues, and internet disconnections to ensure academic integrity, and invited candidates must later upload a headshot in the portal for identity verification.

How High Point Selects Candidates for an Interview

Every completed application is reviewed independently by at least three team members: two from Graduate Admissions and one WSDM faculty member. Additional faculty reviews happen if the initial reviewers do not reach a consensus. Reviewers evaluate your knowledge, experiences, reflections, and attestations using a strengths-based holistic approach and assign an overall readiness tier: Ready, May Be Ready, or Not Ready Yet.

HPU uses Kira Talent for the 2026-2027 cycle. If faculty rate your application as Ready, your video assessment score has little influence on your interview invite. However, if reviewers raise minor concerns and rate you as May Be Ready, a high Kira score increases your probability of receiving an interview offer. The assessment also alerts the school to potential behavioral challenges early in the review.

Interview invitations for August dates begin going out in June and July and continue through as late as November. Interviews are held on select Fridays, approximately once per month, and conclude no later than February. Sign-up happens in the applicant portal on a first-reserved basis, and invited candidates must submit a 2x2 passport photo upon registration. Compare fall dates in our University of Oklahoma dental school interview guide.

HPU WSDM Application Readiness Rubric (Official Sample Criteria)

Application Section	Concerns	Notable Observations	Highlights
Knowledge	Prolonged poor performance, transcripts not uploaded, no or unanticipated BS/BA	Variable academic history, limited improvement, few advanced courses	Strong academic history, multiple preferred courses, Master's or Doctoral degree
Experiences	No work or volunteering, no shadowing/exposure, no dental/healthcare	Experiences in only one area, limited healthcare exposure, no leadership/achievements	Diverse/immersive experience, research present/publication, non-academic award(s)
Reflections	Lack of self-awareness, dishonesty or hyperbole, comprehension concern	Mixed self-awareness, lacking depth to responses, difficulty communicating	High self-awareness, followed directions/request, rationale for challenges
Attestations	Academic integrity concerns, recent misconduct, unable to follow directions	Dismissal from a program, history of misconduct, potential behavioral concern	No integrity concerns, no misconduct or concern, no behavioral concern

High Point University Dental Interview Format and Day Schedule

High Point University does not offer online or virtual interviews for regular DMD applicants. All interviews are held in person on campus at One University Parkway in High Point, North Carolina. The school requires an on-site visit so you can test the haptic simulators, participate in group exercises, and tour Workman Hall.

Leading up to your interview date, HPU sends you travel and lodging details, an interview preparation guide, and a request to complete a single pre-interview activity to prepare for your on-campus visit. On interview day, you will park at the Congdon Hall parking deck and check in at the lobby of the Workman School of Dental Medicine, where you will receive your detailed schedule.

The session with the WSDM team is approximately 3.5 hours long inside a 5-hour morning or afternoon campus block. During the visit, you will rotate through three 10-minute one-on-one interviews with WSDM faculty (30 minutes of total faculty interview time computed by our team), a dental-related procedure simulation using haptic technology, a flipped classroom demo with group activities, a tour of Workman Hall, and a closing Q&A session before an optional tour of main campus facilities.

Official HPU WSDM Morning and Afternoon Interview Day Schedules

Activity	Morning Session	Afternoon Session
Check-In (Workman Hall Lobby)	8:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.
Welcome and Introduction	8:30 a.m.	12:30 p.m.
Procedure Simulations	9:30 a.m.	1:30 p.m.
Group Activities	10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.	2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Campus Tour	11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.	3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

How You Are Evaluated on Interview Day (Official Rubric)

Only the three 10-minute individual faculty interviews are graded. Evaluators use standardized rubrics focused on observable behaviors to minimize bias. The haptic procedure simulation, flipped classroom demo, and tour are ungraded so you can relax and be yourself. However, evaluators observe all activities throughout the day for candidate highlights and concerns to share during the post-interview debrief.

Because each one-on-one interview is only 10 minutes long, how you structure your answers matters. In its published evaluation table, HPU explicitly lists being verbose or not concise and being too focused on the right answer as notable observations that can hold you back. Evaluators reward candidates who connect answers to real experiences, explore multiple viable options, bring novel insights, and ask thoughtful questions.

Table 4: Official HPU WSDM Individual Interview Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Tier	Observable Behaviors Noted by WSDM Faculty Evaluators
Concerns	Did not address the prompt, disengaged or distracted, lack of emotional intelligence (confrontational/aggressive or overly confident/arrogant)
Notable Observations	Lack of depth to response, timid or required prompting, verbose or not concise, too focused on 'right' answer, missed viable options/actions
Highlights	Connected to experiences, confidence in response, explored all possible options, novel responses to prompts, questions for the evaluator

Mission Fit: The CARE Curriculum and HPU Oral Health Network

WSDM's mission is to put the people who need care at the center of everything they do through collaborative and integrated care, education, and scholarship. The school's vision is to discover, develop, and deliver better health, guided by five core values: Compassion, Integrity, Growth, Innovation, and Collaboration.

Students train in the year-round (12-month) CARE Curriculum, which stands for Clinician, Advocate, Researcher, and Entrepreneur. Organized in repeating 6-week modules, the entire curriculum uses a true pass/no-pass grading system to emphasize teamwork and well-being, with optional tasks available for honors designations. In years one and two, Mondays are dedicated assessment days, and students have daily protected lunch (12:00 to 12:45 p.m.) and club or faculty meeting blocks (12:45 to 1:30 p.m.).

Nearly 50% of the curriculum is experiential learning. Starting in the first semester, students rotate through the HPU Oral Health Network, a collection of approximately 30 HPU-owned and operated dental practices across the Triad region of North Carolina (with three primary 30-operatory specialty hubs in High Point, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem) within a one-hour drive of campus. Students do not have to find their own patients, and all clinics use the EPIC electronic health record to connect oral and systemic healthcare. Admitted students who embody the CARE roles are also automatically considered for C.A.R.E. scholarships with no separate application required.

Clinician: Emphasizes whole-person, oral-systemic care using EPIC electronic health records, haptics simulation, 3D printing, CAD/CAM, and artificial intelligence.
Advocate: Focuses on meeting patients where they are in the community, partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and reducing barriers to care.
Researcher: Immerses learners in summer research projects, clinical trials, and evidence-based inquiry.
Entrepreneur: Teaches real-life practice management, business finances, and leadership across private, group, community, and hospital practice settings.

Preparation Plan for the 10-Minute Interviews and Kira Assessment

Because HPU does not require specific prerequisite courses, a DAT score, or letters of recommendation, your reflection prompts, Kira video responses, and 10-minute faculty interviews do the heavy lifting. Use this step-by-step plan written by our team to prepare for HPU's exact evaluation rubric. When you are ready to practice out loud with timed video prompts and instant rubric feedback, Start your free week on Confetto.

Map 4 personal stories to the CARE roles: Write down one specific experience where you acted as a Clinician/caregiver, an Advocate for someone in need, a Researcher/problem-solver, and an Entrepreneur/leader so you can immediately connect your answers to real experiences.
Practice the 90-second rule for 10-minute stations: With only 10 minutes per faculty member, aim to keep each spoken answer under 90 to 120 seconds. State your direct point, share your connected experience, and explore two or three viable options to avoid being marked verbose or too focused on a single right answer.
Complete the unscored Kira practice questions first: Use HPU's built-in practice questions during your 30 to 45 minute Kira session to check your lighting, audio, and eye contact before starting the scored one-way video assessment.
Treat ungraded simulations as team exercises: During the haptic simulation and flipped classroom demo, focus on listening to peers, following instructions, and staying engaged rather than trying to dominate the room.
Prepare 3 specific questions for your faculty evaluators: Asking questions is an official Highlight on HPU's rubric. Ask about how faculty mentor students during Monday assessments, how summer Researcher and Entrepreneur projects work, or how first-semester students are placed in Oral Health Network practices. Skip questions the FAQ already answers, such as what HPU looks for in an applicant.

Post-Interview Decisions, Deposits, and the BS/DMD Scholars Track

After your interview day concludes, every staff and faculty member who interacted with your group debriefs to share highlights and concerns. Your interview evaluations and application ratings are then sent to a separate WSDM faculty decision committee (which does not include the Dean). To prevent bias, the decision committee reviews completely de-identified data with no names, ages, or schools attended.

The committee votes to place each candidate into one of three categories: Conditional Acceptance, Active Reserve, or Reapply Next Cycle. Rolling admissions decisions begin in August. Candidates placed in the Active Reserve Pool are re-voted on alongside newly interviewed applicants whenever cohort spots remain open. Once interviews finish no later than February, the Active Reserve Pool serves as the waitlist if any of the 60 confirmed learners withdraw.

If you receive a conditional acceptance between August and March 1, you must submit a $1,000 non-refundable deposit within 30 days to hold your seat (applied toward first-year tuition). Between March 1 and July 1, the deposit is $500, and on or after July 1, the deposit is waived and you have 48 hours to confirm. Current High Point University undergraduates can also apply to the accelerated 6-year Dental Medicine Scholars (BS/DMD) program by July 31 after completing at least one year at HPU. Eligible HPU undergraduates who meet the GPA, course, shadowing, service, and faculty letter requirements are guaranteed an online and/or in-person interview.

Related: our how many dental schools you should apply to guide.

Related: our dental school interview questions guide.

Related: our Campbell University school interview guide guide.

High Point dental school practice question (written by us, not High Point)

During your first-year experiential rotation in an HPU Oral Health Network clinic, a patient needs a restorative procedure but tells you they want to delay care because they are anxious and worried about missing work. How would you approach this situation, and what question do you have for me about how we train students?

Example answer (written by us, invented applicant)

I'd start by asking what worries the patient most, the procedure or the time off work, because those need different answers. If it's the procedure, I'd ask my supervising dentist to walk them through each step before we start and agree on a signal they can use to pause. If it's work, I'd look at options with the team: an early or late appointment, splitting the treatment into shorter visits, or treating the most urgent tooth first. I'd also make sure they know what can happen if the tooth waits, without scaring them. When I volunteered at the front desk of a community health clinic, a patient canceled twice because of her shift schedule. Once we offered her a 7 a.m. slot, she kept every visit after that. That taught me a delay is often a scheduling problem, not a lack of interest. My question for you: when a first-year student meets a patient like this in an Oral Health Network practice, who do they go to first, the supervising dentist or the care team?

Why this answer works: It maps to the Highlights column of HPU's published rubric. It connects to a real experience, explores several options (explaining the steps, a pause signal, scheduling, phased treatment) instead of hunting for one right answer, stays under two minutes, and ends with a question for the evaluator.

High Point dental school interview FAQ

Does High Point University dental school use ADEA AADSAS?

No. High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine does not participate in ADEA AADSAS and instead uses its own free application in the Slate portal on its website. The only cost to apply is an estimated $50 one-time fee for the mandatory Kira Talent assessment.

What is the High Point University dental school interview format?

The interview has two stages: first, a 30 to 45 minute asynchronous one-way video assessment on Kira Talent. Second, invited candidates attend an in-person, 3.5-hour interview day on campus that includes three 10-minute one-on-one faculty interviews, a haptic dental procedure simulation, a flipped classroom group activity, a Q&A session, and a tour of Workman Hall.

Are High Point dental school interviews virtual or in person?

All regular DMD interviews are held in person on campus in High Point, North Carolina. HPU does not offer virtual interviews because candidates need to interact with the haptic simulators, complete group exercises, and tour Workman Hall in person.

When do High Point dental school interview invitations go out?

Invitations for August interview dates begin going out in June and July and continue through as late as November. Interviews take place on select Fridays approximately once per month and conclude no later than February.

Does High Point University dental school require the DAT or letters of recommendation?

No. Neither the DAT nor letters of recommendation are required or accepted on the HPU WSDM application. Applicants must hold a US bachelor's degree in any major prior to matriculation and have a minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA (or a 3.0 or higher Master's degree GPA).

Does High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine prefer in-state applicants?

No. As a private dental school, HPU WSDM has no in-state or out-of-state quotas for its 60-learner cohort, and annual tuition (estimated at $85,000 to $89,000 inclusive of fees) is the same for North Carolina and out-of-state residents.

Sources, checked November 3, 2026:

Confetto isn't affiliated with High Point University. Everything here about the school comes from its public pages, checked in November 2026.

Formats and dates can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.

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