Preparing for the NYU College of Dentistry interview

What NYU looks for

NYU's DDS program page describes the school as the third oldest and the largest dental school in the United States, educating about 10 percent of the nation's dentists, with about 300,000 patient visits each year. Students begin rotating in comprehensive care clinics in the first year and earn initial patient care privileges at the end of the second year. The curriculum includes community outreach rotations, such as care delivered aboard the Smiling Faces, Going Places mobile van for public school children. NYU also has a Center for Oral Health Policy and Management and a Dental Student Leadership Institute.

The FAQ gives the numbers behind selection: nearly 5,000 applications a year and about 380 new students. The strongest candidates tend to have GPAs between 3.29 and 3.79, the mean total GPA of admitted students is 3.61 and the mean science GPA is 3.51. Mean Academic Average and Total Science scores are each 21. NYU does not give feedback on denied applications.

The school does not publish a list of interview criteria. What it publishes about the school and its values (clinical depth, early patient care, community outreach and leadership) are a reasonable guide to what questions will touch.

The cycle and requirements

• Dates: for the 2027 cycle, applications can be submitted from June 2, 2026 until January 15, 2027. Acceptance notifications run from December 15, 2026 to June 15, 2027.
• Supplemental fee: $100, paid through NYU's applicant portal after AADSAS verification. NYU does not post status updates on AADSAS.
• Letters: either one committee letter or three individual letters, two of them from science faculty.
• Shadowing: a minimum of 100 hours is recommended.
• DAT: taken within three years, with scores by January 15. NYU accepts retake scores throughout the cycle.
• Prerequisites: two semesters or three quarters each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and English or writing-intensive courses, with a C or better.

The Kira step comes after you submit everything. NYU says candidates interviewed after December 15 are admitted on a rolling basis, so an earlier application is the safer plan.

How to prepare for the video interview and Candidate Day

• Practice to the camera. Record yourself answering unfamiliar prompts with a timer. Look at the lens, not your own face.
• Structure each answer. A recorded answer cannot be rescued by a follow-up question. Lead with the point, give one example and finish with what you learned.
• Prepare for large-school questions. NYU is big. Expect to explain why you want a large, clinic-heavy school. NYU says its 14 Academic Societies, each with about 27 students per class year, give students smaller-group learning and mentoring, so be ready to say how you learn in a group.
• Prepare for Candidate Day. NYU does not publish the Candidate Day schedule or interview type, so prepare for several possibilities, including a conversation with faculty or students. Ask specific questions about the clinical rotations.
• Know your community and outreach experience. The school stresses it.

NYU dental school practice questions (written by us, not NYU)

NYU does not publish its Kira or Candidate Day questions. These are ours, built from the format and what the school emphasizes. For the video stage, practice with about 30 seconds to think and two minutes to answer.

1. Why dentistry, and what experience convinced you?
2. Tell us about a time you worked with a person whose background was very different from yours.
3. Describe a setback and how you handled it.
4. NYU students treat patients early and often. What are you most nervous about, and how will you manage it?
5. A patient refuses a treatment you believe they need. How do you handle it?
6. How would you explain a root canal to a worried ten-year-old?
7. Describe a time you led a group and the plan changed. What did you do?
8. What do you think the biggest barrier to oral health care is in your community?
9. Tell us about a hands-on skill you have worked to improve, and how you know it improved.
10. Why NYU, and why New York?

For a wider set, see our dental school interview questions guide.

A drill for a recorded interview

1. Pick six questions from the list. For each, set a 30-second think timer and then a two-minute answer timer, and record on your phone.
2. Watch each take. Mark filler words, long pauses and any answer that did not start with the point.
3. Redo the three weakest answers the same day. Compare the takes.
4. For Candidate Day, run a separate 20-minute live session with a friend, with one follow-up per answer.
5. Repeat the whole set two days later.

If you do not have partners, Confetto's dental school interview prep uses AI mock interviews that ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward. The question bank has over 500 questions, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.

NYU dental school interview FAQ

Does NYU use Kira Talent?

Yes. NYU says each applicant completes an asynchronous video interview through Kira Talent.

Is there a live interview?

Yes, for final candidates: an in-person DDS Candidate Day after the video interview.

When are interviews?

August through March, per the FAQ.

How many people apply?

Nearly 5,000 a year, with about 380 enrolling.

What is the deadline?

January 15 for the AADSAS application, DAT scores and all other required materials.

Applying to other large programs? See our guides to the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and UCSF School of Dentistry interviews, or our dental school interview prep page.

Sources: NYU College of Dentistry DDS admission requirements, application process, FAQ and DDS program pages.

Confetto isn't affiliated with NYU. Everything here about the school comes from its public admissions pages, checked in October 2026. Formats and dates can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.