<p>Hello everybody!</p>
<p>I was just wondering if anybody has any idea about how the SOKA university of America is? Does anybody you know have attended SOKA?How generous is it?</p>
<p>Any kind of information is welcome! :)</p>
<p>According to Princeton Review, 100% of the students receive some form of aid (which would include federal loans), and the school meets (on the average) only 85% of need. At most schools this means there’s more aid for some than for others - but don’t know if that’s the case at this school.</p>
<p>Run the net price calculator and see what you come up with.</p>
<p>Hey themystique22, I don’t go there, but I did live about ten minutes away (walking). The city of Aliso Viejo is not a college town in any way. It’s right above an elementary school, and surrounded by suburban houses. Behind it are some nice trails that are fairly heavily used by everyone in the community. The nearest shopping is about a mile away in a place called the Town Center, and Soka provides shuttles to and from there all the time. If you want to explore more of what South Orange County has to offer, you’ll probably need a car. Public transit isn’t very good, and although there’s an OCTA (Orange County Transit Authority) stop close to campus, it picks up very intermittently.</p>
<p>The campus itself is absolutely gorgeous. Soka is heavily funded by Soka Gakkaii, a sect of Buddhism, and it shows in the architecture. Picture a zen garden crossed with a college campus, and you’ve got some idea as to what the school looks like. At least three high schools in the area had their prom there because it’s one of the most beautiful places in Orange County.</p>
<p>If you want to go to Soka, be warned that it’s tiny. As in less than 500 students. About 40% of them will be international, and many of them hyper-religious owing to its affiliation with Soka Gakkai. Since the school is so new, it only offers a few majors but does require at least one study abroad. But because it is so new, and has a huge endowment, it’s able to offer free tuition to people who make less than $60,000 a year. </p>
<p>As far as general perceptions go, most people in Aliso Viejo either think it’s some weird Buddhist school, or a 4 year community college. But Soka is trying to reach out to the community and sponsors multi cultural fairs, haunted houses on Halloween, concerts, and lectures, which lessens people’s attitudes about Soka being a “bad” school.</p>
<p>The best way to evaluate any college is to visit it and ask your own questions. Soka University’s Lions Roar for high school students is Oct. 20 and Nov 10, 2012 from 9 am to 2 pm – and students can register at <a href=“http://www.soka.edu/admission_aid/admission_events/lionsroar.aspx[/url]”>http://www.soka.edu/admission_aid/admission_events/lionsroar.aspx</a> </p>
<p>Financial aid is generous – over half of the entering classes for the last two years have been on full tuition scholarships because their families make $60,000 or less.</p>
<p>SUA was just ranked in the Top 50 National Liberal Arts Colleges by US News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2013 – and Top 7 on the West Coast – which is not bad for a liberal arts college that just opened 11 years ago.</p>
<p>Hello Themystique22!!!
Im a current student of Soka University of America. Our school is a private liberal arts college with a mission statement to foster global citizens who are committed to living a contributive life. Although we only offer a B.A. in Liberal Arts, we do have four different concentrations including social behavioral science, environmental science, international studies, and humanities. Our school has been intended to be a small school so the acceptance is around a hundred students per year. This is because we want to allow housing for all students and to be able to keep our class room sizes at an average of 13 students per class. We want our students to be able to have dialogues with each other as well as their professors. </p>
<p>Our school has been founded by an educator who at the same time is a religious leader. It is not religiously affiliated and there are a variety in religious believes within the student body as well as faculty.<br>
It is a very new school so the reputation is still building, but many of our students continue their education in prestigious colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Cornell, etc. Our students generally have a better understanding of the current global events as we have been given invaluable opportunities to travel abroad for study abroad and courses such as Learning Cluster where students and faculty of the same interest can come together and apply for grants to travel and learn. I personally was able to visit South Korea to learn about the comfort women issue as well as the migrant workers in South Korea. The cultural experiences you get from travelling are immense and it widens your view of this world so much! People get into philosophical or controversial topics anywhere any time. The dialogues are interesting and mind boggling at times.</p>
<p>We have a generous group of donors of whom many are alumni of our sister school in Japan. These donors made it possible for all the opportunities we are offered and the beautiful campus. To be very honest, I dont think I wouldve gone to college without the financial aid I receive currently. It pains me to know if people are to judge our school without even a visit just because we are too young for our name to reach out. Please, if you would like. I highly recommend a visit to our school. Youll know why this place is charming once youre here, and if you decide that you dont like it even after the visit, then at least you have seen for yourself what this place is like.</p>
<p>Hello mystique,</p>
<p>Im a senior at Soka now and love it here. </p>
<p>By generous I assume youre referring to financial aid. Soka is extremely generous with their scholarships and financial aid. Students whose parents make under $60,000 annually are provided with full tuition, and scholarships for sports or academics can be added on to that to cover room/board. </p>
<p>So, while Soka is more expensive than a public university, scholarships and aid often bring the price down to make it much more affordable. </p>
<p>Also, on the topic of religion, Soka is funded by a Buddhist organization, but is in fact a non-sectarian university. I am Catholic and have not once felt out of place or pressured to convert. </p>
<p>-Charlie</p>