UAB Dental School Interview: Format, Dates, Questions

UAB publishes firm dates for students starting in July 2027 (the Class of 2031), and every step after AADSAS is by invitation:

1. ADEA AADSAS. The application opened May 12, 2026. UAB's last date for AADSAS submission is October 31, 2026, and it says to start as early as possible.
2. Supplemental application, if invited. Every Alabama applicant gets one, along with out-of-state applicants UAB can seriously consider. The fee is $75, non-refundable, and you should pay it only if you were invited.
3. Everything else by November 15, 2026. The supplemental, transcripts, letters and other documents go to UAB by then.
4. Interview, if selected. The invitation comes by email.
5. Offer Day, December 15, 2026. Decisions are posted on the AADSAS website, and UAB says more offers may follow to complete the class. Admitted students pay a $1,000 deposit, credited at registration.

UAB's December 15 matches the acceptance notification date ADEA lists for this cycle on its Apply to ADEA AADSAS page.

Alabama first, with room for others

UAB is a public school and gives preference to Alabama residents. Its FAQ says about 30% of each incoming class is from out of state, from around 1,400 applicants for about 84 places. Out-of-state applicants should expect a question about why UAB and Alabama, and residents about where they want to practice.

Research for every student

UAB's DMD program page says research is built into the curriculum and every student completes and presents research, with a DMD/PhD pathway for more. It also says the school ranks among the nation's leading dental schools in NIDCR funding. If you have research on your application, be ready to explain it simply, and if you don't, have an honest answer about what you would want to study.

Clinics across Alabama

Students move from simulation to comprehensive patient care and train in specialty clinics, hospital and community settings across Birmingham and at UAB Dentistry in Dothan, with Decatur coming in 2027. Students also learn alongside residents and fellows in specialty programs. Questions about caring for patients from different backgrounds fit this school well.

Rural Alabama

UAB runs a separate Rural Dental Scholar program, a five-year pathway with the University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences for applicants from rural Alabama who intend to practice in a rural community. Even if you aren't applying through it, it tells you the school cares about where its graduates practice.

Holistic review

UAB's FAQ says it uses a holistic review that includes non-academic factors. For shadowing, it sets no required hours, says many recent applicants shadowed 50 to 100 hours, and looks at consistency of experience more than totals. One of your four letters must come from a dentist you shadowed, so be ready to talk about what you saw in that office.

• Reread your AADSAS application. UAB doesn't say whether the interview is open file, so treat it as if every experience and grade could come up.
• Prepare your why dentistry story. Start with what first drew you in, then what you learned while shadowing a general dentist, then why it fits you.
• Have a specific why UAB answer. Research for every student, clinics in Birmingham and Dothan, and learning beside residents are things UAB itself highlights.
• Know your Alabama answer. Residents can say where they hope to practice. Out-of-state applicants need a real reason to train in Birmingham.
• Set up for a virtual interview. Quiet room, plain background, a wired connection if you can, and a practice call on the same platform the day before.
• Prepare two or three questions about the research requirement, the clinics or student life.

1. Set up exactly as you will on the day: same room, same camera, same lighting.
2. Have a friend on a video call ask six questions from the list, each with one follow-up.
3. Answer each in under two minutes and record the call.
4. Watch it back. Mark any answer that didn't start with the point, and any time you looked away from the camera for long.
5. Redo the weakest three. Repeat the set two days later with a different friend.

Practicing alone? Confetto's dental school interview prep runs AI mock interviews that ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward.

Is the UAB dental school interview virtual?

UAB says interviews are conducted virtually, at least in the beginning of the cycle.

Who interviews you at UAB?

The Admissions Committee. UAB doesn't publish how many interviewers you meet or how long the interview lasts as of November 2026.

Does UAB use the MMI?

UAB's DMD admissions pages don't mention an MMI as of November 2026. They describe an interview with the Admissions Committee.

When does UAB send dental school acceptances?

On Offer Day, December 15, 2026, through the AADSAS website. More offers can follow to complete the class.

What is the UAB dental school deadline?

October 31, 2026 for AADSAS, and November 15, 2026 for the supplemental and remaining materials.

Applying to other dental schools? See our guides to the University of Florida College of Dentistry and NYU College of Dentistry interviews, UAB's dental school acceptance rate and class stats, or our UAB Heersink School of Medicine guide if you are weighing medicine too.

Sources: UAB School of Dentistry How to Apply, DMD Admissions, DMD FAQs, DMD program and Rural Dental Scholar program pages, and ADEA's Apply to ADEA AADSAS page.

Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Everything here about the school comes from its public admissions pages, checked in November 2026.

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