University Of Hawai'i

Although many people from Hawaii go to Mainland schools, I went to the Univeristy of Hawaii and ended up graduating there as well. I went for a Business Degree so I spent most of my time at the Business Administration area which is towards the top part of the school. The parking was very hard to find so I had no choice but to go to school by 6:45am and find street parking. Then I would sit in the car and rest until about 7:30am and then have breakfast in school. The good thing is it forced me to get early classes and I got to leave earlier in the day. Some of the classes were really crowded but I found that it is up to the student to take their studies seriously. And there are also a lot of great teachers there as well. You just have to take advantage of their knowledge and their ability to help you. more

I enjoyed taking classes at UH Manoa. Most of the classes that I enrolled in were in Business so it was very interesting. Most of my classes were held in the School of Travel Industry Management Building which is very beautiful. I got to go on an internship sponsored by the college and it helped me to gain work experience in another country. more

It's too bad that some consider UH Manoa a poor value. As an undergraduate student during the late '90s, I quickly realized that the opportunities to excel were there IF you were willing to quit whining and start looking. For example: I took advantage of UHM's Selected Studies program. Instead of the 100+ students in my core classes, my average class size was ten. That's right: ten students. Classes were taught by senior professors, not graduate assistants. Again, the opportunity to receive a top-notch experience was there -- all you had to do was take advantage of it. UHM offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate-level schools of study. As with any university, not all of them are of equal quality. Do not listen to blanket statements about accreditation -- do your own research to determine where your particular school of interest ranks. Finally, folks always complain about parking. No, there will NEVER be enough parking, but this is not a problem exclusive to UHM (ask HPU students about the joy of parking in downtown Honolulu). Do us all a favor: leave your car at home and ride the bus. It's cheap and convenient, and also means that there is one less car on the road. more

I graduated from the University ahem... a few years ago, I think it was around $650 some odd dollars a semester. I got a decent job, and worked my way up. The first large company I worked for employed over 1,000 in the state. Then I moved up to a mainland owned corporation with over 200,000 employee's. I have worked along side Ivy leaguers and other "geniuses" what do I have to say? I think my education was worth every cent I paid and them some. Many of the people who go to state colleges on the mainland are in debt for tens of thousands of dollars when they graduate, and these are for state run colleges! here: http://www.hawaii.edu/admrec/tuition.html Take a look at the tuition table in todays dollars, a full-time undergrad resident pays less than $2,000 and a non-resident less than $5,100 a semester. How can anyone say this is a bad value? Pay your dues once you get the job, perform, and work your way up. It really doesn't matter where you get your degree from. Oh yea, as you can tell, my degree isn't in english ;) more

Hawaii Warrior enthusiasts are often accused of being fair-weather fans. After seeing the premium being charged to loyal season ticket holders just to keep their seats, I can’t blame them for expecting the football team to perform beyond all expectations. Don't get me wrong. I think June Jones is worth every dollar of his six-figure salary. He's managed to set the bar higher than almost any previous coach. Success on the field has translated into the ability to demand more for the tickets. Makes sense. The football experience in Aloha Stadium is awesome. Almost as incredible is the pre-game tailgating that occurs in the parking lot hour prior to the game. Usually the grumbling about higher prices subsides as the team wins. Hopefully this will continue to repeat itself season over season, or Mr. Jones may learn about our fair-weather fans the hard way in an empty stadium. more

UH Manoa is a disappointment to me. The university is WAY behind mainland universities in so many ways. The dorms are falling apart. There is no Greek life. You would think the athletes play in the pro's the way they are treated. Academically, it was behind other programs I have been a part of. The parking situation is insane, there is no where near enough parking to be a commuter school of any type. So your options are commute and have no place to park or live in dorms that are falling apart. I was also disappointed that there is no real program to try to draw in older adults. It seemed like most of the undergrad students are in their teens and early 20's. I met very few people older than 21 on campus. Older adults need to feel welcome too as there are many people who would like to go back to finish school or obtain additional degrees. If they don't feel welcome, they aren't going to bother. My husband took classes at HPU and they seemed much more accomadating for older students. more

I went to UH and was unimpressed by the lack of interest in keeping the accreditation for the university. 15 years ago it was the only state university with accreditation, now there is Hawaii Pacific University that is a better bet, but is less known. If you really want to get an education in Honolulu, then check out Chaminade or Hawaii Pacific. UH is close to loosing their accreditation. more