When Do Dental Schools Send Interview Invites?

When dental schools send interview invites: the month-by-month 2026-27 cycle, the windows schools publish themselves, and what silence actually means.

The school-by-school timeline for dental school interview invitations — when the earliest invites go out, each school's own interview window, and what to do if you haven't heard back. return ( The question every dental school applicant asks from August through January — when do interview invitations go out, when should I be concerned, and what should I actually do while I'm waiting. Waiting for dental school interview invitations is one of the most anxiety-producing experiences in the application cycle. The forums fill up with timestamped reports of who got invites when, applicants with stronger stats wonder why they haven't heard back, and the silence between application submission and an email in your inbox can feel endless. Most of that anxiety is driven by incomplete information. Applicants don't know when schools typically send invites, don't understand how rolling admissions actually works, and interpret silence as rejection when

it often isn't. This guide gives you the information to interpret the timeline accurately — when each school's first invitations were reported, each school's own interview window, and what to do at every stage of the waiting period. How the Dental School Application Timeline Works Before the school-by-school breakdown, the overall cycle structure — because understanding the sequence explains why invitations arrive when they do. The AADSAS Cycle (Domestic DDS Programs) Timeline. What Happens. Early June. AADSAS opens for application submission (June 2 in 2026). A school receives an application only after AADSAS processes it, which can take weeks, yet a few schools invite in June: one applicant reported an Iowa invitation on June 13, 2025 (a date the tracker also lists), and the tracker lists LECOM, Touro and ASDOH in June 2026.. July–August. Schools begin reviewing complete applications. "Complete" means AADSAS-verified, with all

required supplemental materials submitted and all fees paid. Many send their first invitations now: on SDN's invite tracker, applicants had reported first invitations from 28 of the 72 schools with a date by the end of July in 2025–26, and from 25 in 2026–27.. August–October. Nearly every school starts inviting. On the same tracker, 70 of the 72 schools with a reported date in 2025–26 had their first invitation by the end of September (UCLA and Meharry came in October). By the 2026–27 tracker's September 25 update, 72 schools had one, and several listed schools, Howard among them, had none yet. Interviews begin at most schools.. October–December. Interviews continue, and rolling schools keep inviting. Rolling admissions programs are filling their classes in real time during this window.. January–February. Final interview waves. Some programs keep inviting into February or March for remaining seats. By this point, many programs are

significantly or fully committed.. March–April. Waitlist movement and final decisions. Most programs have issued the majority of their admissions offers.. Rolling Admissions Is Not a Level Playing Field. An equally qualified applicant who submits in June and interviews in September is competing for a different class than the same applicant who submits in September and interviews in January. Early submission — not just before the deadline, but among the first applications submitted — is one of the highest-leverage decisions in the cycle. The CAAPID Cycle (Advanced Standing Programs) ADEA CAAPID opened for the 2026 cycle on March 5, 2026 and closes on January 29, 2027. There is no single CAAPID deadline: each program sets its own. Among the 21 programs in the CAAPID table below, deadlines ran from March 26, 2026 (Minnesota, per ADEA) to October 15, 2026 (Boston University), except Colorado's, which runs to January 29, 2027: its

application, for a class starting in January 2028 (ADEA), opened on September 18, 2026. Interview seasons vary as much: Penn's calendar listed interviews for June–July 2026, Indiana says it interviews "in late May through July," Boston University says interviews "begin in May and continue through November," and USC's catalogue says October. Rolling Review Is Common, Not Universal. Boston University and Tufts review applications on a rolling basis, and Penn makes its admissions decisions on a rolling basis; Tufts calls its review "first-come, first-served," and Boston University recommends "submitting completed applications early in the cycle." Pitt and UNC say they do not have rolling enrollment. Colorado's ISP says admission "is not on a rolling basis," but it extends interview invitations "on a rolling basis" and encourages early applications. Check each program's own policy, and where it reviews or invites on a rolling basis, apply

early. Domestic DDS Program Interview Invitation Timeline Every row below was checked in October 2026, except NYU's window and format: NYU's site blocked our checker, so those are from its pages as last read in July and August 2026. The interview window and the format come from each school's own pages, and "Not published" means the school doesn't say. The invitation dates are not the schools' words: they come from Student Doctor Network's interview-invite tracker, a table that a forum volunteer compiles each cycle from applicants' reports (2025–26 last updated October 22, 2025; 2026–27 last updated September 25, 2026). Read them as the earliest date on that tracker, not as a school's schedule; a school's own applicant thread sometimes shows an earlier invitation. On each tracker, 72 schools had a reported first invitation (not quite the same 72: Howard and California Northstate had dates only in 2025–26, Tufts and Yeshiva only in

2026–27). This is the month each one's first reported invitation went out: Month. 2025–26. 2026–27 (to September 25). June. 2 schools. 3 schools. July. 26. 22. August. 23. 34. September. 19. 13. October. 2. 0. School. Interview window (school's own page). Format (school's own page). First invitations reported, 2025–26. 2026–27. A.T. Still University – Arizona (ASDOH). September–March. A group activity, a panel interview and three timed MMI stations with a standardized patient; in-person or virtual day. July 4. June 23. Boston University. September–March. Zoom interview with a member of the admissions committee. August 29. August 19. California Northstate. Typically August or September to March or April (2026–2027 catalog). An interview team of at least one Admissions Committee member; setting not published. September 5. None on the tracker. Case Western Reserve. From mid- to late August; end not published. Personal interview with

faculty or staff. September 8. September 2. Colorado (CU Anschutz). Not published. On campus, by invitation: a formal interview and a tour; format not published. July 29. July 21. Columbia. Fridays, September–February. Zoom; Kira for designated applicants. July 27. August 2. Creighton. Fall: September–November; spring: January–February if needed. Virtual interview with an admissions committee member, plus an in-person presentation and tour. August 14. August 10. Dental College of Georgia (Augusta). Mid-August to early December. On campus, by invitation: interviews conducted by DCG faculty, alumni and professional staff. July 16. August 7. Detroit Mercy. Not published. Personal interviews by invitation; Kira after an invitation. July 21. August 3. East Carolina (ECU). Not published; offers from December 15, on a rolling basis. An interview with members of the Admissions Committee, by invitation; setting and format not published

(enrollment limited to North Carolina residents “at this time”). August 8. August 3. Florida. July–December (its committee page says July–February). Typically one open-file interview with 3–4 Admissions Committee members, about 20–30 minutes; in person. July 2. July 2. Harvard. September–February. Up to two one-on-one interviews with an admissions committee member; the first is virtual. September 4. September 2. High Point. Select Fridays, about one a month, August–December (its FAQ: interviews end “no later than February”). In person only: three 10-minute one-on-one faculty interviews, plus a haptic procedure simulation and a flipped classroom demo. July 29. July 23. Howard. Its two official sites differ: August–January (older page), or eight sessions September–November (student affairs FAQ; its applying page says August–November, February only if the class isn't full). A 25–30-minute panel interview and a second interview with the

Director of Admissions (per its older DDS page). August 27. None reported yet. Indiana. Two Saturdays: October 3 and November 14, 2026. In person; Kira for every applicant. September 6. September 11. Iowa. August–November 2026. Timed “one-on-two” interviews, each with a different pair of interviewers (total not stated); in person, plus one virtual day. June 13. July 2. Kentucky. Typically the end of August to early December; invitations by email from mid-July. A panel interview at the College of Dentistry (its 2025–26 catalog) with members of the Admissions Committee, faculty, staff and students. July 25. July 24. LECOM. Throughout the application cycle. A formal interview at the school; format not published. July 15. June 19. Loma Linda. Not published. A formal interview by invitation, at the school, with a tour. September 21. July 3. Louisville. Late August–February; invitations typically from late July or early August. Typically one

or two one-on-one interviews of about 20–30 minutes each; Casper required. July 31. July 17. LSU. From around August 1 until the class is filled. Required, by invitation; format not published; a timed chalk carving on interview day. July 1. July 7. Marquette. September 18, 2026–January 25, 2027. Virtual; format not published. September 2. September 3. Maryland. Mid-September–late February. Virtual; format not published. August 22. August 25. Meharry. Not published; review from August 1, rolling, “until the class is filled”. Two interviews, from Meharry faculty, dental alumni or Nashville dentists; setting not published. October 7 (the forum thread's first invitation posts are dated October 21). August 19. Michigan. Not verified: Michigan's site could not be read in October 2026. Not verified (one 2025–26 applicant reported Kira, then a live online MMI). September 1. August 24. Minnesota. Kira from June; live interviews July–November,

then January or February. Kira first round for select applicants, then a live 20-minute structured interview with two faculty (closed file) for select applicants who complete it; in person, Zoom in January or February. July 14. July 9. Mississippi (UMMC). Not published (interviews are “scheduled during specific periods”). An interview session that includes multiple mini-interviews with Admissions Committee members. None on the tracker. None on the tracker. MUSC. Not published. Virtual: two 30-minute interviews with faculty members (its undated FAQ). August 12. August 6. Nebraska (UNMC). August–November. An interview with the admissions committee. July 15. July 15. Nova Southeastern. Not published. An interview day that “may include” an interview with faculty. July 17. August 11. NYU. August–March (last read July 2026; another NYU page then said September–March). Kira for every applicant, then an in-person Candidate Day (last read August

2026). July 18. July 10. Ohio State. October and November. Not published. August 8. August 27. OHSU. Invitations September–March (“Dates may vary”). By teleconference with members of the admissions committee. August 19. August 27. Oklahoma. September–November. Not published. September 3. September 11. Pacific (Dugoni). Most interviews September–March. In person in San Francisco, with one or more Admissions Committee members. August 22. August 25. Penn. Weekly, September–March. An interview day; format not published. September 4. September 8. Pittsburgh. Mostly the fall term, on selected Mondays. Personal interviews with faculty, plus presentations by department chairs and directors. September 2. August 18. Roseman. August 2026 through spring 2027. Kira, then by invitation a meeting with an interview team. July 25. July 22. Rutgers. Not published. Required, by invitation, after your DAT scores arrive; format not published. August 14.

August 18. Stony Brook. Not published. Kira before interview selection; format not published. August 25. August 25. Tennessee (UTHSC). Usually from early July; invitations July to February; slots are often taken by early September. One interview at the College of Dentistry, usually with three faculty members and the Chair of the Admissions Committee. August 29. August 4. Texas A&M (TMDSAS). Selection for interviews begins in July. An interview with the Admissions Committee. July 17. July 15. Touro. September–March. 30 minutes, one-on-one, open file; in person or virtual. July 15. June 22. Tufts. September 2026 to spring 2027. Not published. None on the tracker. September 3. UAB. Not published. An interview with the Admissions Committee; virtual at least early in the cycle. July 24. August 24. UCLA. July–January. A personal interview, by invitation. October 3. August 19. UConn. Not published. Required, by invitation: an interview with

basic science and/or clinical faculty, part of a day-long orientation (its page describes a visit to the school; the tracker lists virtual). July 22. July 24. UCSF. October through January (its undated international coursework page); offers December–March. Two one-on-one interviews: a faculty member on Zoom, and a current student on Zoom or in person, with a 30-minute writing exercise; interviewers don't see your written application. September 11. September 14. UIC. September 2026–March 2027. Virtual: one interview with 1–2 faculty, plus student services and a student panel; typically closed file. September 18. September 24. UMKC. Not in UMKC's catalog (its dental site could not be read in October 2026). A personal interview (UMKC's catalog). August 30. August 21. UNC Adams. September–November. In person (planned for 2026–27): “a series of personal interviews” with the Admissions Committee (UNC's catalog). August 1. July 21. University

of Washington. In person during the fall; invitations August–November. Not published. September 9. August 10. UNE (University of New England). Typically July–December (2026–27 catalog). Required, by invitation only; format not published (applicants report a Kira step). August 22. August 3. UNLV. September–February. By invitation; format not published. August 20. August 19. USC. Typically October–April. On campus, by invitation; format not published. September 8. September 2. UT San Antonio (TMDSAS). August–January. A faculty member and a third- or fourth-year student. July 18. July 22. UTHealth Houston (TMDSAS). Not published. An Admissions Committee member or designee. August 1. August 3. University of Utah. Not published for 2026–27 (its 2025–26 guide: Sept–Nov). In person only; format not published. August 5. July 30. VCU. Mid-September–February, with a holiday break. A 30-minute interview with two faculty members at the school, plus

a wax tooth carving (its interview-day page); its selection page says “a series of personal interviews”. August 11. August 11. Western University of Health Sciences. September–February. On campus; format not published. August 15. August 14. Who invites first? Not UCLA. UCLA is often described as the school that invites in July. Its own page says interviews are scheduled "between the months of July and January", but applicants' first reported UCLA invitations came on October 5, 2023, September 25, 2024, October 3, 2025 and August 19, 2026. In 2025–26 the earliest first invitations on the tracker were the University of Iowa (June 13), Pacific Northwest University (June 30), LSU (July 1), Florida (July 2) and ASDOH (July 4). In 2026–27 they were LECOM (June 19), Touro (June 22), ASDOH (June 23), Midwestern Arizona (July 1), and Florida and Iowa (July 2). For this cycle's status at every school on SDN's tracker, with the first interview

dates applicants reported and each school's own 2026–27 deadline, see our dental school interview tracker . Don't Wait for Your Invitation to Start Preparing. Start practicing interview questions now so you're ready when your invite arrives. DentPrep's AI coach gives you instant feedback on every answer.. Start Practicing Free →. CAAPID Advanced Standing Program Invitation Timeline Every row below comes from the program's own pages, read in October 2026, and from ADEA's CAAPID Program Finder where marked (ADEA). NYU's own site blocked our checker, so its row comes from ADEA's NYU profile. "Not published" means the program doesn't say. These are 2026-cycle facts for classes starting in 2027 (Colorado's in January 2028); a few programs' pages already describe the next cycle or still show an earlier one. Program. 2026-cycle deadline. Interviews (program's own words). Decisions and start. Boston University (DMD Advanced Standing). October

15, 2026. On Zoom, by invitation: "Interviews begin in May and continue through November". Rolling; a class of 100 starts in late July 2027. Buffalo (IDP). June 1, 2026 (ADEA). Its pages now show the 2027 cycle: bench test and interview offers "throughout July and August," then bench tests and in-person interviews in September and October. Its 2027-cycle pages: decision notifications begin in November and offers continue "until our IDP class is full"; this cycle's class starts May 1, 2027 (ADEA). Colorado (ISP). January 29, 2027 (open since September 18, 2026). Virtual interviews "during the months of March and April" (another CU passage still says "an evaluative in-person interview"); bench exam in person, May/June. Provisional acceptances "by July"; admission "is not on a rolling basis"; class starts January 3, 2028 (ADEA). Columbia. August 1, 2026. Kira for designated applicants; "Interviews are by invitation only" (months not

published). Not published; starts January 2027. Howard (IDP). July 31, 2026. Not published. Up to 10 selected after interviews (ADEA); starts in May 2027. Indiana (IU-IDP). May 15, 2026. Kira first; virtual interviews "in late May through July"; a bench test for a select group after all interviews. By phone "no later than September"; starts January 2027. Loma Linda (IDP). June 1, 2026 (ADEA; LLU's catalog wants all documents by June 1, its IDP page materials by July 1 for testing). Dexterity testing, by invitation, on "one or more Sundays in the fall"; interviews follow from the results. Not published; starts March 29, 2027 (ADEA; LLU's IDP page says "Spring Quarter (March-June)", its catalog the summer term). Minnesota (UMN PASS). March 26, 2026 (ADEA). Not on UMN's current pages; its 2025-cycle FAQ described Kira, a group Zoom interview and an in-person day with a practical test. Not published (2025 cycle: by September 30); starts

January 4, 2027 (ADEA). Nova Southeastern (IDP). June 5, 2026 (ADEA); NSU's undated page gives June 6 for CAAPID and June 13 for its own application, and further down November 1 and December 1; its 2025–26 catalog gave June 1 and June 15. Not published (a personal interview and a psychomotor bench test). Not published; starts April 19, 2027 (ADEA). NYU. June 1, 2026 (ADEA). Kira for every applicant, then an in-person Candidate Day for final candidates (months not published). Not published; starts January 4, 2027 (ADEA). Penn (PASS). June 1, 2026. June–July 2026, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at Penn Dental Medicine. Rolling, "Summer into Fall 2026"; starts January 2027. Pitt (IASP). June 19, 2026. Invitations "2-3 weeks after the closure of application deadline" (its FAQ); a virtual interview and an in-person bench test. About 3 weeks after the interview, and "we do not have rolling enrollment" (its FAQ); starts May 2027. Rutgers (IED).

September 16, 2026 (ADEA). Not published; by invitation, and "No candidate will be accepted without an interview". Rolling (its FAQ, in a 2025-cycle answer); starts February 1, 2027 (ADEA). Temple. July 15, 2026 (ADEA and Temple's 2026–2027 Bulletin; its admissions page says July 1, with no year). Not published; a formal interview on a visit, and a skills assessment. Not published; ADEA gives April 1, 2027 as the start, Temple's calendar April 19 and its 2026–2027 Bulletin June. Tufts (DIS). May 29, 2026. Kira Talent interviews from early June, on a rolling basis through July. Not published (review is "rolling, first-come, first-served"; a waitlist once the class is filled); starts January 2027. UCLA (PPID). June 30, 2026. Casper for all applicants; finalists, notified by email, take an interview and a knowledge and skills assessment over 3 days (months not published). "Acceptance notifications will be sent in the Fall"; starts in May

2027 (UCLA: late May; ADEA: May 5). UCSF (IDP). June 15, 2026 (ADEA; UCSF's page says June 16, with no year). By invitation, "typically in August or September". Not published; starts June 14, 2027 (ADEA). UMKC. June 1, 2026 (ADEA). Invitations in late June; a multi-day visit at the end of July with an interview and a skills bench exam. Offers from August 1, on a rolling basis until the class is filled; starts January 18, 2027 (ADEA). UNC (ASPID). May 23, 2026. Invitations "2-3 weeks after the closure of application deadline"; one in-person interview day with a bench test. About 3 weeks after the interview; "we do not have rolling enrollment"; starts January 2027. UNLV. June 1, 2026. Not published; candidates hear about 2–3 weeks before their interview and test date. Not published; up to 8 selected (ADEA estimates up to 12); starts May 2027. USC (ASPID). July 31, 2026 (ADEA). October, per USC's catalogue (the same section gives an

outdated deadline). Not published; starts May 3, 2027 (ADEA). Colorado: Applications Are Open Now. Colorado's application for its ISP Class of 2029 opened on September 18, 2026 and closes on January 29, 2027. Its apply page says interviews will be held virtually "during the months of March and April," with a school tour, a faculty/student interview and a student panel (two other passages say "an evaluative in-person interview"), and the bench exam "will be held in-person in May/June." Colorado publishes no bench date. "Interview invitations will be extended on a rolling basis," so apply early. UMKC: A Multi-Day Visit. UMKC invites candidates in late June to a multi-day visit at the end of July: "instrument check-out, procedural lectures, practice time, interview, and a skills bench-exam," with a non-refundable fee for the skills assessment ($2,500 on its program page; its 2026–27 catalog gives no amount). Offers start on August 1 and

continue on a rolling basis until the class is filled. → Full CAAPID programs comparison guide What Rolling Admissions Actually Means For You "Rolling admissions" is on almost every dental school's website, but most applicants don't fully understand what it means in practice. It does not mean applications are considered in submission order. It means admissions decisions are made and communicated continuously throughout the cycle rather than in a single batch after all applications are reviewed. Schools review complete applications as they arrive, make decisions, and fill seats — while simultaneously receiving new applications. It does mean early seats are more available than late seats. A program with 88 seats that interviews 400 applicants starts the season with 88 seats available. By November, if they've made 60 acceptances and 50 applicants have committed, there are 38 seats remaining. By January, there may be 12. The interview you

attend in September is competing for a different class size than the interview you attend in January. It does not mean applying early guarantees an interview. Applications submitted in June to schools that receive 2,000+ applications still go through a review process. But among qualified applicants, earlier submission means earlier review, earlier decision, and access to more available seats if the decision is positive. The practical implication: Submit your AADSAS application on June 1 or as close to it as possible. Verify every school's supplemental requirements and submit those within 48 hours of receiving the request. Have your letters of recommendation submitted before June 1. The Invitation Waves: What They Are and How They Work Most schools don't invite all applicants they plan to interview simultaneously. They send invitations in waves — batches reviewed and processed together, often with 1–3 weeks between waves. Why waves

exist: Admissions committees have limited time for review. They process a batch of complete applications, decide who to invite, send those invitations, then move to the next batch. The size and frequency of waves varies by school. What this means for you: Not hearing from a school during the first wave does not mean rejection. Many applicants receive invitations in the second, third, or fourth wave weeks after the first wave went out. Schools do not publicly announce when waves are sent. SDN threads — particularly the "[School Name] Class of 20XX" thread for the current cycle — are the best real-time source for wave activity. Some schools send rejection notifications between waves. Others don't send rejections until after interview season is complete (or not at all). If your application status shows "under review" or "complete," you have not been rejected. What Schools Themselves Publish About Interview Timing Almost everything written

about invitation timing comes from applicants reporting to each other. That is genuinely useful, and it is also second-hand. Most schools in the table above publish at least some interview timing, and where they do, that beats any crowd-sourced estimate. Four schools' own pages add details worth knowing: School. What the school publishes. Where it comes from. NYU (DDS). "Interviews will be conducted from August through March" — one of the longest published windows in dental admissions. NYU's own FAQ. Midwestern Arizona. "The interview process typically begins in the fall prior to matriculation and ends in February or March of the matriculation year"; invitees "should respond within four weeks". Midwestern's Arizona catalog. UCSF. Interviews by invitation only, roughly 200 applicants a year; a single 1 October application deadline with offers released December to March. UCSF's DDS admissions pages. Midwestern Illinois. An on-site

"Interview Day" with dental faculty, scored on a standardised evaluation form. Midwestern's Illinois catalog. A four-week reply window is the detail worth acting on. Midwestern Arizona asks invited applicants to respond within four weeks . Most schools give you far less — often days — and the response window is rarely published anywhere before the invitation lands in your inbox. The practical consequence: decide in advance roughly when you could travel and which dates you would decline, so that an invitation is a scheduling problem rather than a panic. Every year applicants lose slots to a reply sent three days late. Where You Are in the 2026–27 Cycle Timelines are easier to read when you know which part of the season you are standing in. This is the shape of an AADSAS cycle, month by month — use it to work out whether silence is normal yet. When. What is happening. What silence means. June – July. AADSAS opens and the earliest

applications are verified. The first invitations go out: on SDN's invite tracker, more than a third of schools (28 and 25 of 72) had a first invitation reported by the end of July in each of the last two cycles.. Not yet a signal. Most schools have not sent their first invitations.. August – September. Nearly every school starts inviting: 70 of the 72 schools with a reported date on the 2025–26 tracker had their first invitation by the end of September, and by the 2026–27 tracker's September 25 update 72 schools had one (several, Howard among them, had none yet). Interviews begin.. Still not a rejection. A first-invitation date is when the earliest applicants heard, not when every invitation went out.. October – November. Interviews run at most schools, and rolling schools keep inviting.. Worth reviewing your list and your application, but not panicking.. December – January. Invitations continue at schools whose interview windows run

into the new year; many run to February or March.. Now it is worth acting — see the December section below.. February – March. Late invitations, cancellations being backfilled, and final rounds at multi-stage schools.. Invitations genuinely still arrive here. NYU publishes a window that runs to March.. Rolling admissions makes the calendar mean something different. At a rolling school, an invitation in October is not the same opportunity as the identical invitation in January — by January there are fewer seats behind it. That is why the advice everywhere is to apply early, and why an early invitation is worth more than a late one even when the interview itself is identical. It also means a school going quiet is not the same as a school saying no. Many programmes review in batches and simply have not reached your file. School-by-School: What to Watch For UCLA — Later Than Its Reputation UCLA's own page says the Admissions Committee

"begins reviewing applications in July" and that "Interviews are scheduled between the months of July and January." Applicants' first reported invitations tell a later story: October 5, 2023, September 25, 2024, October 3, 2025 and August 19, 2026. If you applied to UCLA and it is September or October, silence is normal. → UCLA dental school interview guide Harvard — Up to Two Interviews Harvard's own page describes up to two one-on-one interviews with an admissions committee member, from September to February. In the fall the first interview is virtual and the second is virtual or in person, as the candidate prefers; spring interviews are both virtual. "Not all candidates will receive a second interview." Applicants reported Harvard's first invitations on September 4, 2025 and September 2, 2026. → Harvard dental school interview guide Penn Dental — Invitations Through February Penn's own page shows 3,421 applicants and 178 enrollees

for its DMD Class of 2030. It holds interviews weekly from September through March, and says invitations "will be emailed beginning in August and will continue through February on a rolling basis." Applicants first reported Penn invitations on September 4, 2025 and September 8, 2026. → Penn dental school interview guide | Penn PASS (CAAPID) interview guide Michigan — Check Your Invitation We could not read Michigan's admissions pages in October 2026 (its site blocked our checker), so we don't repeat older claims about its format. One 2025–26 applicant reported a Kira step, then a live online MMI. Applicants first reported Michigan invitations on September 1, 2025 and August 24, 2026. Confirm the format in your invitation. → Michigan dental school interview guide BU Goldman DMD Advanced Standing — A Long Interview Season BU enrolls 100 internationally trained dentists a year into its two-year DMD Advanced Standing program. Its 2026-cycle

deadline, October 15, 2026, is the latest in the CAAPID table above apart from Colorado's, and its class starts in late July 2027, not January. "Interviews begin in May and continue through November," on Zoom, and review and decisions are rolling. BU's advice: "we recommend submitting completed applications early in the cycle." If you are still waiting, BU says "If an applicant has not yet received a decision, their application remains under active consideration." → BU Goldman advanced standing guide Practice While You Wait. Use the waiting period to build your interview skills with AI-powered mock interviews. When your invitation arrives, you'll be weeks ahead.. Start Mock Interviews →. How Long After Submission to Expect Invitations This question has no single answer — it depends on when you submitted, when the school begins reviewing, how competitive your application is relative to the pool reviewed at the same time, and how many

seats remain. General patterns: For June submissions: the first invitations can come in June or July. On SDN's invite tracker, more than a third of schools had sent their first invitations by the end of July in each of the last two cycles, and nearly all by the end of September. For July or August submissions: an invitation can still follow quickly once your file is complete, but early interview dates fill. One ASDOH applicant reported being marked complete on July 27, 2026, invited the next day, and offered December 1 as the earliest interview date. For September or later submissions: interview slots at rolling programs are increasingly limited. Some programs with strict quotas may be significantly committed before late-submission applications are reviewed. What To Do If You Haven't Received Any Invitations by October October without any invitations is concerning but not diagnostic. Here's how to think about it: Step 1: Check

Application Completeness Log into AADSAS and each school's individual portal. Confirm that every school shows your application as "complete" — not "received" or "waiting for materials." An application showing as incomplete has not been reviewed. Step 2: Check Your Email Spam Folder Interview invitations from AADSAS, school portals, and Kira Talent are regularly filtered to spam. Check spam weekly during the September–December window. A missed invitation that expires unacknowledged is a significant loss. Step 3: Evaluate Your Application Honestly Compare your DAT scores and GPA against the published averages for each school on your list. If your metrics are significantly below a program's average, your application may be screened before reaching the interview stage regardless of when it was submitted. Step 4: Add Schools If Your List Is Small Some applicants with 5–7 schools on their list are waiting for invitations from programs where

their metrics put them at the margin. Adding 3–5 schools with published averages closer to your actual profile creates more realistic opportunities. Step 5: Don't Stop Preparing The worst outcome of an anxiety-driven October is that when an invitation finally arrives, you've been so consumed by waiting that you haven't prepared. Treat October as preparation time regardless of your invitation status. What To Do If You Haven't Received Any Invitations by December December without invitations is a materially different situation from October without invitations. For programs with January application deadlines or later interview windows: December silence isn't necessarily late. Some programs' primary interview windows are October–February. Check each program's publicly stated interview dates rather than assuming December represents the end of the window. For programs whose published interview windows end in November (among them Iowa,

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio State and UNC Adams): December silence often signals one of two things — your application wasn't competitive enough for the programs on your list, or your application had a completeness issue that delayed review. At Iowa, a completeness issue doesn't delay review: applications still incomplete after its September 30 deadline “will be cancelled and removed from further consideration”, and it sends its decision notifications by email on December 15, 2026. Practical steps: Contact individual programs where you haven't heard back. A brief, professional inquiry — "I submitted my application on [date] and wanted to confirm it was received and complete" — is appropriate. Begin a realistic reapplication assessment. If your primary concern is getting into dental school in this cycle, late December is the time to honestly evaluate whether the remaining opportunities are sufficient — or whether a strategic reapplication in

the next cycle with a strengthened application is the right move. → CAAPID reapplicant strategy guide How to Use the Waiting Period Productively The wait between submitting and an invitation varies by school, from days to months. Here's how to use it: Start interview prep immediately — don't wait for invitations. The moment your applications are submitted, begin the preparation work. Build your story bank. Draft your "why dentistry" answer. Research each school on your list. These are high-value tasks that compound over time. Research each school's current format. SDN threads for the current cycle begin filling with format confirmation data as the first interviewees report their experiences. By October, you should know whether each school is still using the format published on their website. Practice one mock interview per month minimum. Don't let the waiting period become a practice-free gap. One full 30-minute mock interview per month

means you arrive at your first invitation having already practiced 2–3 times. Monitor SDN's interview tracker for your schools. Many dental school applicant communities maintain spreadsheet trackers showing when invitations were received, applicant stats, and interview dates. Follow up on any missing application materials. Use the waiting period to confirm that every letter of recommendation has been submitted, every transcript has been verified, and every supplemental has been received. → Full 30-day dental school interview prep plan → Interview formats by school guide The Specific Anxiety: "Others Are Getting Invites and I'm Not" This is the experience that drives most of the forum anxiety during August–December. Someone with a lower GPA posts that they got a Michigan invite. Someone with a higher DAT posts that they haven't heard from anywhere. The comparisons feel meaningful and they often aren't. Why individual comparison doesn't

tell you much: Schools review applications in batches based on when they arrive and when they're complete — not in order of strength. Different geographic regions, different applicant demographics, different program-specific diversity considerations all affect invitation patterns in ways that aren't visible from individual SDN posts. Interview invitations are not merit rankings. Programs send invitations to applicants they believe meet the threshold for a productive conversation — not in rank order of quality. What individual comparison does tell you: If applicants substantially similar to your profile are consistently reporting invitations from a school and you haven't received one by late October, that's a signal worth paying attention to — not panicking over, but paying attention to. It may mean reviewing your application for completeness, or honestly evaluating whether your profile is competitive for that program. Start Preparing

Now — Don't Wait for Your Invitation. The waiting period between application submission and interview invitation is the best time to build the preparation that determines whether the invitation converts to an acceptance.. Start Interview Prep Now →. ); }; export default DentalSchoolInterviewInviteTimeline; When do dental schools send interview invitations? On SDN's interview-invite tracker, most domestic dental schools sent their first invitations between July and September in each of the last two cycles: of the 72 schools with a reported date in 2025–26, 28 had by the end of July and 70 by the end of September. The earliest were in June (the University of Iowa and Pacific Northwest University in 2025–26; LECOM, Touro and ASDOH in 2026–27). UCLA is not the July outlier it is often called: its first reported invitations came on October 3, 2025 and August 19, 2026. These are applicant reports; each school's own interview window is in the

table on this page. CAAPID advanced standing programs run on their own calendars: for the 2026 cycle, Penn's calendar listed interviews for June and July, Indiana says it interviews from late May through July, and Boston University from May through November. How long after submitting does it take to get a dental school interview? For June submissions, first invitations can come within weeks of your application reaching a school: SDN's invite tracker shows most schools' first invitations between July and September, and a few in June. Later submissions push this timeline later. The key variable is when your application reaches "complete" status at each school, not when you hit submit on AADSAS. What does it mean if I haven't received any interview invitations by November? First, confirm your applications are genuinely complete at every school — not just submitted. Missing letters or supplementals silently stall applications. Second,

evaluate whether your school list is appropriately matched to your metrics. November without invitations is concerning for rolling programs but is not necessarily the end of the cycle — some schools interview through February or March, and USC through April. Is it okay to contact dental schools asking about your application status? Yes, but with appropriate framing. A professional inquiry asking whether your application is complete and under review is appropriate. Asking why you haven't been invited to interview, or requesting feedback on your application status, is not — admissions offices don't provide this during the active cycle. Keep contact brief, professional, and specific to completeness verification. Do dental schools interview everyone who meets their stated minimum requirements? No. Published minimums are screening floors, not guarantees. Programs that receive 1,000–2,000+ applications for 80–120 seats invite a fraction of

minimally-qualified applicants. Meeting a program's minimum GPA and DAT means you're eligible to be reviewed — not that you'll receive an interview. Should I send a letter of interest or update to a school I haven't heard from? A well-crafted update letter — describing a meaningful recent development in your application (significant new clinical experience, a publication, a meaningful volunteer milestone) — is appropriate and can be beneficial. A generic "I'm still very interested in your program" letter without substantive new content adds no value. If you have something genuinely new to add, add it. If you don't, wait.