Three stages. Tufts publishes none of them, so every line below comes from applicants who have been through it.
An online recording you complete on your own, before the live session. Behavioural and ethical questions. Applicants report roughly 45 seconds to think and 2 minutes to answer, with no second take.
A virtual session about the school with current students. This is not the interview and nobody scores it, but you may be asked to introduce yourself in front of the group. Have thirty seconds ready so you are not writing it in your head while someone else talks.
A live interview with one faculty member or student, reported at about 28 to 30 minutes and relaxed in tone. Relaxed is the trap: it is still an interview, and a third of applicants report closed file, meaning they had not read your application.
First interview free in any format.
“Interview sessions will be conducted between September 2026 and spring 2027.”— Tufts School of Dental Medicine, DMD Program Application · source
Tufts publishes none of this itself — not the format, the length, nor whether it is open or closed file. See the reports.
The recording comes first and it is the stage nobody rehearses. Do that one before you think about the live conversation.