How to get into Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC (DDS) Dentistry in 2027 Entry

Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC (DDS) is a US DDS programme that evaluates applicants holistically via AMCAS. The core academic filters are MCAT and GPA (cumulative + science).

Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC (DDS) uses Traditional one-on-one or panel interview with faculty. Interviews typically take place in September–February. Final decisions are released Rolling admissions.

Panel-style interview - typically 20-40 minutes with 2-4 interviewers (a mix of academic staff and clinicians, sometimes a current student or admissions specialist). Questions probe in depth; expect follow-ups that test how you reason rather than what you've memorised.

Applications via ADEA AADSAS. Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC, founded in 2016, is affiliated with New York Medical College (NYMC) in Hawthorne, Westchester County. Touro University is a Jewish heritage institution; TCDM is open to students of all backgrounds. The school benefits from co-location with NYMC, enabling interprofessional education with medical students and hospital clinical affiliates. Westchester County location provides a suburban New York clinical training environment. Following a 2023 enrolment expansion, TCDM now also operates a clinical campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Touro Dental Health, at the Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute) — the first pre-doctoral dental clinical training facility in the state; all students complete their first two years in Hawthorne, after which about 100 per class undertake their final two clinical years in New Mexico while the remainder stay in New York.

1. 1. Starting UCAT prep too late

   The UCAT is a learnable test, but the curve is steep - three to six months of daily practice typically separates the 2,200+ scorers from the 2,000s. Booking your slot in August and starting prep in July is the most common reason applicants under-perform.

2. 2. Applying to the wrong four schools

   Each school weights UCAT, GCSE, personal statement and interview differently. A 2,150 UCAT applicant is competitive at Cambridge but a long shot at Imperial; a strong GCSE profile matters at Birmingham but is invisible at Bristol. Pick four schools whose admissions algorithms favour your specific profile, not just whose names you recognise.

3. 3. Treating the personal statement as a CV

   Listing every prize, role and placement without reflection is the most common reason strong-on-paper applicants get rejected pre-interview. Tutors want evidence you can think - not evidence you have a long list.

4. 4. Under-preparing for interviews

   An average UCAT can become an offer with a strong interview; a strong UCAT cannot survive a poor interview. Most schools weight the interview heavily in the post-shortlisting decision. Plan ~40-60 hours of structured interview prep (mocks, ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics) before December.

5. 5. Ignoring widening-participation eligibility

   Most schools have substantially lower contextual UCAT cut-offs (often 10-15% below the standard tier) for applicants who attended state schools in deprived postcodes, were eligible for free school meals, or are care-experienced. If you might qualify, check every school's contextual policy - and submit the supporting evidence on time.

6. 6. Choosing dentistry for the wrong reason

   Tutors interview thousands of applicants and can quickly tell when motivation is parental, financial or status-driven rather than vocational. The strongest applicants can name a specific moment that made them commit, can describe the parts of the career they're least excited about, and can articulate why they didn't choose nursing, physio, or biomedical research instead.