Hawaii-Manoa or ASU?

<p>I've been accepted to both the University of Hawaii-Manoa and Arizona State University. Which one would you choose? I like ASU because...1) it's cheaper to fly to 2) it's the biggest school in terms of enrollment 3) ranked among top party schools for many consecutive years 4) broad range of majors. </p>

<p>I like Hawaii-Manoa because...1) a beach is within 15 minutes 2) I could finally learn how to surf, and then do so quite easily 3) supposedly real laid back 4) hawaii'n women are gorgeous!</p>

<p>I think both are relatively the same in terms of cost...but I do hear Manoa is sort of a commuter school...any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>I told my son he couldn't apply to U of H! He had to work first! That was my only interference in the college application process. :) I do know someone who is now teaching there and loves it.</p>

<p>What about the academics? Any idea of what you want to do and which school is stronger in that area?</p>

<p>I'm thinking of nursing, or maybe further in medicine...maybe anesthesthia or something...both schools offer them...so it's come down to location for me...both places seem cool.</p>

<p>The beaches where the good surfing is are more than 15 minutes from the university. More like 40 minutes away. I lived on Oahu for almost 4 years and was not impressed with the beauty of the women. But you can't beat the weather or the diversity, the university is beautiful and laid back, and a good education can be had. I always wondered why more mainlanders didn't go there...it would be 4 years like no other prominent university could offer. Hawaii-Manoa is by far the most famous college in the state, but it's by no means the only one. I got a degree in philosophy at Chaminade U. of Honolulu, and it was enough to get me into and through the U of Toronto's M.A. program in that subject.</p>

<p>Arizona is an up-and-coming school and will break into the second tier in the next couple of years. Unless you relish the idea of living in a tropical climate THAT much...</p>

<p>No, I actually like the climate of Arizona much better. Dry heat, rains rarely, the sun shines roughly 340 days of the year, etc. Well, if the good beaches are 40 minutes or so away, I guess I'm leaning towards ASU!</p>

<p>ASU for business
hawaii for marine bio.</p>

<p>beaches at 10 minutes on the bus (for small to medium size waves). If you want HUGE waves it might be 40 minutes but you can get to nice swimming/surfing beaches in 10-15 minutes. And Waikiki Beach is olnly like 7 minutes by car. A lot of people bike there every weekend. I'm at UH now and you can easily get to the beach. If you want the North Shore thats further but you'll find a lot of other students who go out there too. But yeah, if you just want a nice beach, they are in walking/biking distance and the bus also comes right to campus and goes to all the main beaches near Honolulu and Waikiki. Actually Drew, I'd say UH Manoa for business. They were recently ranked Top 20 Business school (suprising but true) and their Hospitality and Tourism as well as International Business degrees are ranked even higher and are among the best. The Marine Bio, Asian Studies, Languages, Peace Studies, Engineering, and Natural Sciences are also really good. Obviously things like Hawaiian Studies/Pacific Studies are great too. The Nursing program is good too and UH Manoa has a medical school too and every year they take in some of the graduating undergrads (hawaii students get priority) and give them full scholarships for Med School. Plus, Hawaii tuition is cheap and there are lots of scholarships.</p>

<p>If you do opt for UH-Manoa don't forget to calculate 5 years into the cost of attending. Its graduation rate in 4 years is under 12%. Not all of those students take extra time to graduate due to surfing, at lot is due to under funding of UH by the state.</p>

<p>Nah, its easy to graudate in 4 yrs if you go to the advising center. Most students take 4 classes per semester because a lot work as well. I'd say almost everyone is only in 4 classes. You can take up to six per semester (plus a lab) but a lot of students dont do that. I dont know why. If you take 5 per semester you will graduate on time. There are lots of core classes so just be sure to be on top of it and take all the required courses. The five year graduation rate is low but if you want to graduate in 4 yrs it's easy. It's really up to you but there are a lot of people who like to surf or have to work and so they take fewer credits. Some people like to double major too and that can take longer too.</p>

<p>Kaytlin - You may be right for some students but in the case of the student I am familiar with the reason for an extended ug stay was the school of education had too many kids wanting to enter in her junior year. She was unable to gain entry for a year. If you can't get into your designated school of as a junior it will definitely delay graduation. This person is a serious student and she said that her experience is not uncommon. She also said as an OOS non-native hawaiian she was low on the selection list which may impact the op's experience as well.</p>

<p>I'm not native Hawaiian either and haven't had any problems. But yes, the education school is very competitive. If you don't have a high GPA and haven't taken all the pre-req courses its hard to get in. Theres a high demand for teachers in Hawaii so a lot of people want into the major and it can be quite competitive. I guess it could take more than 5 yrs for education majors if they can't get in for some reason (but a lot of schools do that--UCLA doesn't admit people until junior year into competitive programs like communications and film and Berkely does the same for Business and other programs as well so you could encounter the same problem there and Hawaii is less competitive than that). But the OP is not interested in Education so it shouldn't be a problem. The other majors can be entered into as a freshman so you can start working on classes right away.</p>

<p>It sounds like ASU would be better academically, but college in hawaii. . . . yeah, you couldn't ask for more than that ; )</p>

<p>could you elaborate? merit?
thx</p>

<p>I'd stick with ASU, you'll be happy when you don't need to fly over the ocean just to get home.</p>