<p>Any thoughts? It is a 10 yr old Buddhist international university that looks interesting on paper.</p>
<p>I live about a mile from Soka. It’s a gorgeous, brand new campus with fewer than 400 students. It has only one major, BA in Liberal Arts, with a focus on service, and every student must study abroad. Aliso Viejo is a suburban city and the campus is on the outskirts, but I’ve seen Soka shuttles to the town center where there’s a Barnes and Noble, grocerices, movie theatres, restaurants, etc. It’s not a typical university, but if its specialty focus interests you, check it out. It’s supposed to have need-blind admissions and generous financial aid.</p>
<p>I’m in the buddhist organization that started the school and it’s been pitched to me pretty well, I know people who went there and are now going to law school at Georgetown and everyone seems to love it. My friends have gone there for conferences in the summer and they say its GORGEOUS. I would consider it if it weren’t on the West Coast (I live on the east coast and my parents aren’t a fan of me going so far away). They also have some brand new buildings that I’ve heard are really nice.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m currently a junior at Soka University concentrating in Humanities. SUA is a non sectarian college offering a four year undergrad course in BA Liberal arts with concentrations in Environmental Studies, Humanities, Social and behavioral sciences and International studies. The graduate school program offers an MA in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign language as well as a certificate program in Teaching Japanese as a foreign language.
The undergrad course offers a Study abroad programme in a country of the language of your choice at SUA. the language choices are: Japanese, Spanish, Chinese and (recently introduced) French. All juniors are required to go on Study abroad for a semester in either fall or spring. SUA offers need and merit based loans to U.S and international students alike as well as free tuition to admitted students with family income of $60,000 or less. There are currently 400 students from 30 countries including the U.S enrolled at SUA with 80% receiving some form of financial aid.
SUA has three academic buldings. The newest one was inaugurated this semester. The classrooms are designed specifically for science classes as the university is trying to incorporate more science related subjects into the curriculum. This building also houses a black box theatre and multiple dance practice and dressing rooms in consideration of the numerous performing arts student clubs on campus.
SUA offers classes in instrumental classical and jazz music and we have eight soundproof individual music practice rooms on campus. I’ve been taking the strings ensemble class for two semesters now and at the end of each semester I got to perform at the student recital which is really awesome considering the fact that I started out as a beginner. If you’re musically inclined and want to either polish your skills or learn a new instrument, I would definitely recommend SUA.<br>
The new Performing Arts Center was inaugurated earlier this year in May. We’ll be having the Grand opening ceremony on Sept 17 featuring the Pacific symphony orchestra at 8:00pm. So if you live close by it’ll be a good idea to check out the campus this saturday!
The founder of SUA is also the president of a lay Buddhist organization however the school has no religious affiliations nor is religion taught here in any form.</p>
<p>Hello. Im a junior at Soka University, concentrating in International Studies. I think Sokalive has covered most of what Soka offers, so I will add what I think Soka is about. To me, Soka is an ideal place, where I always have my friends around (almost all students live in the dorms), where I always get attention from professors and people in the administration (the average class size is 13 students to 1 professor), where I can focus on my studies, and where I dont have to worry about meals (Soka offers three meals a day if you put yourself on the meal plan!). The list can go on, but I honestly think some people do have a hard time adjusting to whats called Soka Culture. If you dont like to be surrounded by your peers or if you dont like small class size, rather you want big classes, SUA is probably not the place to be. I dont know what type of university you are looking into, or what type of person you are, so I cant be sure if Soka is the place for you. But I recommend you come visit our campus and see Soka students. There will be Lions Roar on October 22nd and on November 12th for prospective students to see the campus, meet the students and ask questions. I strongly recommend you visit Soka and see what Soka is about with your own eyes.</p>
<p>Here are some of Soka University’s national rankings:</p>
<p>*US News & World Report “Best Colleges 2012 Rankings”
# Top 100 (#64 tie) National Liberal Arts Colleges
#1 (tie) in Most Students Studying Abroad - All Colleges & Universities
#1 in Most International Students - All Colleges & Universities
#2 (tie) in Most Ethnic Diversity - National Liberal Arts Colleges
#2 in Highest Proportion of Classes under 20 - National Liberal Arts Colleges
#20 (tie) for Highest Graduation rate - National Liberal Arts Colleges</p>
<p>*Newsweek Fall 2011 “Top 25 Colleges in the US Lists” </p>
<pre><code> *Free-Spirited (design own major)
*Best Weather
</code></pre>
<p>Newsweek Fall 2010 “Top 25 Colleges in the US Lists”
*Most Diverse Schools
*Great Schools with Great Weather
*Most Desirable Suburban Schools
*Most Desirable Small Schools</p>
<p>I also have a question about Soka University. What are the requirements for graduation at the school? In other words how many math, science etc. credits must someone get to graduate?</p>
<p>In response to sacora, you can find the general curriculum on the Soka University website: [General</a> Education Curriculum - Academics - Soka University of America](<a href=“http://www.soka.edu/academics/general-education-curriculum/default.aspx]General”>General Education Curriculum | Soka University of America)</p>
<p>I am a freshman at Soka University and I absolutely love it here. I love the people, the family environment, the education, and all the great opportunities offered to me here. I love the concept of a global citizen and it’s amazing how much they provide for students for a lot of them to travel abroad and learn about different things. I have been able to participate in many extracurriculers, being a part of many great clubs, and being involved in internships and working. </p>
<p>My life has changed so much positively, and I recommend it for anyone who’s up for a life-changing experience to attend Soka. Or even just check it out & meet all the cool people from 23 states and 30 countries!</p>