TCDM Interview Prep Guide (2025-2026)

Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) is a relatively new dental school that emphasizes community service, cutting-edge technology, and compassionate patient care dental.touro.edu dental.touro.edu. The interviewing process at TCDM typically involves a 30-minute one-on-one, open-file interview, providing a conversational and low-stress environment for applicants dental.touro.edu studentdoctor.net. Understanding the school’s mission – which focuses on integrity, empathy, and serving underserved communities – is crucial, as these values permeate the curriculum and student experience dental.touro.edu dental.touro.edu. The D.D.S. program offers a strong academic foundation in collaboration with a medical college, unique clinical training across New York and New Mexico, and numerous opportunities to engage in research and community outreach dental.touro.edu dental.touro.edu. This guide reviews TCDM’s interview format, mission and values, program highlights, relevant policy issues in dentistry, non-academic traits sought in candidates, key competency standards, common themes in interview questions, and the 2025–2026 application timeline – all to help candidates align their preparation with the school’s expectations.

TCDM conducts a traditional interview rather than an MMI. Interviews are typically ~30 minutes long, with one interviewer in an open-file setting (the interviewer has reviewed the applicant’s file) dental.touro.edu. This structure encourages a conversational, low-pressure dialogue; indeed, student feedback indicates the atmosphere is generally relaxed and low-stress studentdoctor.net. Interviews may be held in-person or virtually, and in recent years many have been conducted online as needed dental.touro.edu studentdoctor.net.

• Format: One-on-one interview (single faculty interviewer) in an open-file format dental.touro.edu.
• Length: Approximately 20–30 minutes per interview dental.touro.edu.
• Tone: Reportedly low-stress and conversational in style studentdoctor.net.
• Medium: Offered in-person or via video conference (many interviews have been virtual in recent cycles) dental.touro.edu studentdoctor.net

TCDM’s mission statement emphasizes graduating dental professionals who will serve with integrity, compassion, and empathy dental.touro.edu. As part of Touro University, the dental school upholds Touro’s core values of high-quality education, public health, and community service dental.touro.edu. It was the first dental school under Jewish auspices and the first new dental school in New York State in half a century, reflecting a commitment to innovation and to addressing unmet community needs dental.touro.edu dental.touro.edu. These values are woven into the program and culture at TCDM, and interviewers will be looking for alignment in applicants – for example, a genuine sense of ethics, empathy, and dedication to serving others.

Founded in 2016, TCDM became the 66th dental school in the United States and the first new dental school in New York in over 50 years dental.touro.edu. The school is located on the New York Medical College campus in Hawthorne, NY, which allows dental students to learn basic sciences alongside a medical school environment dental.touro.edu. Starting in 2023, TCDM expanded its class size to 214 students per year, making it one of the largest dental programs; importantly, it introduced a novel two-campus clinical training model dental.touro.edu. All students spend their first two years at the New York campus for pre-clinical training, then a cohort of 100 students completes years 3 and 4 at a new Albuquerque, New Mexico clinic, while the remaining 114 continue at the New York clinic dental.touro.edu. This expansion to New Mexico was designed to help address the severe shortage of dentists in that region dental.touro.edu. The program also boasts state-of-the-art facilities and technology; for instance, its Touro Dental Health clinic provides modern, affordable dental care to the community while training students dental.touro.edu. Students have opportunities to engage in research and community outreach, consistent with the school’s innovative, mission-driven approach dental.touro.edu.

These distinctive program features can provide great talking points in an interview. Applicants might ask about the differences in clinical experience between the New York and New Mexico sites, how being affiliated with a medical college enhances the curriculum, or what research and community service opportunities are available to students. Showing interest in TCDM’s unique offerings (and understanding why they exist) demonstrates to interviewers that you have done your homework and are excited about the school.

TCDM’s mission and program intersect with several broader policy issues in dental education and health care. One prominent topic is access to dental care in underserved areas: for example, New Mexico has only about 48.4 dentists per 100,000 people – well below the U.S. average of ~60.8 – and until TCDM’s recent expansion, the state had no dental school of its own dental.touro.edu. By creating a clinical campus in Albuquerque, TCDM is directly responding to this regional workforce shortage and “dental desert” problem. Another key issue is affordability and coverage of care. TCDM’s teaching clinics strive to provide affordable services to the community dental.touro.edu, which ties into national concerns about oral health access (nearly 27% of U.S. adults lack dental insurance, compared to only about 9.5% who lack medical insurance) time.com. The school’s focus on public health and community service also brings up policy themes like preventive care and integrating oral health into primary health systems. Additionally, TCDM’s embrace of new dental technologies and research reflects larger trends in modernizing dental practice – something an informed candidate could discuss in the context of how dental education is evolving.

Like most dental schools, TCDM uses a holistic admissions process, weighing personal qualities and experiences alongside academic metrics. The admissions committee looks for evidence of strong character and interpersonal skills. In particular, TCDM explicitly values qualities such as altruism, compassion, honesty, and integrity in its applicants dental.touro.edu. Other important attributes include excellent communication and observational skills, emotional maturity and resilience, and even fine motor skills (manual dexterity) necessary for clinical dentistry dental.touro.edu. Leadership experience, the ability to work well in teams, flexibility, and a genuine motivation for dentistry are also assessed during the interview dental.touro.edu. These non-academic factors align with the school’s mission to train caring, ethical practitioners, so candidates should be prepared to demonstrate them through their experiences and demeanor.

• Ethical Qualities – Altruism, compassion, honesty, and integrity are paramount dental.touro.edu.
• Communication Skills – Strong interpersonal communication and keen observational abilities dental.touro.edu.
• Dexterity & Maturity – Adequate motor skills for clinical procedures and the physical/emotional maturity to handle rigorous training dental.touro.edu.
• Leadership & Teamwork – Experience in leadership roles and effective collaboration within teams dental.touro.edu.
• Motivation for Dentistry – Genuine enthusiasm for the field and thoughtful preparation (e.g. shadowing or volunteer experiences) dental.touro.edu.

TCDM’s curriculum and assessments are built around nationally recognized competency frameworks for dental education. As an accredited program, it follows the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standards that outline the competencies a graduating dentist must attain across areas like patient care, biomedical knowledge, ethics, professionalism, communication, and practice management. For instance, a new dentist is expected to conduct themselves professionally and understand their ethical responsibilities to patients, society, and the profession umc.edu. TCDM also publishes technical standards and adheres to guidelines (such as the ADA’s Code of Professional Conduct) that students must meet, ensuring they have the requisite motor skills, sensory acuity, communication ability, and ethical grounding to practice safely dental.touro.edu. Familiarity with these frameworks can help applicants appreciate the skills and values the program will emphasize, which can indirectly inform how they present themselves in interviews.

Past interviewees report that TCDM’s interview questions touch on a variety of topics, allowing applicants to showcase different facets of their background and thinking. While every interview is different, common themes have emerged – ranging from personal motivations for dentistry to ethical reasoning. Below are a few categories of questions that have frequently come up:

• Motivation & Fit – for example, questions like \"Why Touro?\" or \"Why dentistry?\" aimed at understanding your reasons for pursuing dentistry and choosing this program studentdoctor.net.
• Personal Background – open-ended prompts such as \"Tell me about yourself,\" or invitations to discuss key experiences not covered in your application studentdoctor.net studentdoctor.net.
• Ethical/Current Issues – questions on controversial or unexpected topics (e.g., giving opinions on athletes using performance-enhancing drugs) to gauge your ethical reasoning and critical thinking studentdoctor.net.
• Personality & Traits – queries about personal qualities or values, like \"What is one trait you look for in a friend?\" to understand your character and interpersonal perspective studentdoctor.net.
• Challenges & Decisions – scenarios and reflective questions (discussing a conflict you resolved, your biggest achievement, or why you would choose Touro over another school) that explore how you handle situations and make choices studentdoctor.net studentdoctor.net.

1. May 2025 – ADEA AADSAS application opens for the 2025–26 cycle (the national application portal typically launches in mid-May) adea.org.
2. Early June 2025 – First date to submit AADSAS applications (TCDM notes June 1 as the start of its application review period) dental.touro.edu.
3. Feb 1, 2026 – TCDM’s application deadline. All application materials must be submitted by this date (late submissions are not considered) dental.touro.edu.
4. Sept 2025 – Mar 2026 – Interview season for TCDM. Interviews are conducted during the fall and winter months of the application cycle dental.touro.edu.
5. Dec 15, 2025 – Earliest notification of acceptances. (No acceptance offers are released by any U.S. dental school before this date) dental.touro.edu.
6. Rolling Admissions – After Dec 15, admissions decisions are rolling. Interviewed applicants typically hear back within ~6–8 weeks of their interview date dental.touro.edu dental.touro.edu.

In conclusion, preparing for a TCDM interview means becoming well-versed in the school’s values, program, and the wider dental landscape. This includes understanding the interview format and what qualities TCDM seeks, knowing the key features of its curriculum and mission, and being aware of current issues facing dentistry. By reflecting on how your own experiences and goals align with TCDM’s mission of compassionate community-focused care, you can convey a sincere fit with the program. Ultimately, demonstrating knowledge of the school and a commitment to its ideals will help you make a strong impression during the interview.