Master of Public Administration
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
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2027 Admissions Interview Question Bank* (COLUMBIA SIPA MPA)
If you have a plane ticket to travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
Analysis
- Why asked: A personality and curiosity probe — where you'd choose to go and why reveals values, intellectual interests, and how you approach the world.
- Expectations: Strong candidates make a specific, genuine choice with real personal reasoning — not the most impressive destination, but the one they'd actually choose.
- Strong answer: Name a specific destination with 1-2 genuine reasons — what draws you there, what you'd explore, why now — and let real curiosity or desire come through.
- Common mistakes: Choosing the most adventurous-sounding destination without personal reasoning, giving a vague 'I love culture and food' answer that could apply anywhere, or over-strategizing the answer to sound worldly.
*Disclaimer: This question bank is compiled and generated by MockMore (mockmore.com) based on applicant feedback, historical data, and our proprietary AI model. MockMore is an independent platform and is not affiliated with any university or video interview platform (such as Kira Talent, VidCruiter, InitialView, Vericant, etc.).
Interview Experience Records (from Real Candidates)
* The records were obtained from publicly available data or contributed by users of MockMore (mockmore.com), then reviewed and refined by our AI models.