My daughter’s first choice was SDSU, but she was waitlisted there (and everywhere else she applied in state). Her options now are UH Manoa, where she has been offered a scholarship in addition to the WUE, which makes it extremely affordable. OR, she could go to a community college for a couple of years and try to transfer into SDSU. (She also got into UW Seattle and CU Boulder, but without scholarships they are out of our reach.)
She has never been to Hawaii, and I think is a little intimidated by making the leap to a place she has never seen. She’s an environmental science major, and wants to focus on ocean science, and the major is run through the oceanography department, so it seems like a good fit for her. But she really, really fell in love with SDSU when we visited a couple of years ago.
Any thoughts or advice for how to coach her through this decision? Is SDSU worth passing up big scholarship money for? Is there anything we should know about UH Manoa for comparison purposes?
My D was also accepted to UH with WUE and scholarship. She’s been accepted to UC San Diego, UC Davis, Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal Poly SLO, as well as several out-of-state private schools (mostly out of our price range), so she has choices. Still, she’s strongly considering UH Manoa. With the WUE and scholarship, the cost is pretty much in line with the UCs although the CSUs are much cheaper. She also happens to be in the same major as your D (although not ocean science).
She’s only been to Hawaii as a small child, but she’s basically in the same boat as your D in the sense of not really knowing the place. (At the same time, my D feels like she has a connection to the islands; she’s deeply into indigenous cultures and even started studying the Hawaiian language on her own; also, I was a graduate student there.) This said, Hawaii is an easy place to get used to. Most new people to Hawaii–although certainly not all–fall in love with the place as soon as they arrive. It’s not just the beaches, but the overall vibe of the islands. When I was a student at UH, more than a few of my classmates, after living there a few years, never wanted to leave.
I don’t know anything about the environmental sciences program there, so I can’t be of any help.I would guess, though, that it’s at least on par with SDSU and with some of the UCs. Academic reputation is overblown, in any case. A motivated undergrad student can get a comparable education at most universities.
Sorry, I don’t have time to write a more in-depth response, but if I can think of anything else, I’ll post later.
Aloha!
Let me start by saying that everything is so expensive in Hawaii. That would be my first concern after safety issues.
I had two nephews go to school in HI. My nephew, “Johnny” was from Maui, so he flew the ½ hour flight home and had Kamaaina rates on the Airlines and occasionally flew home on the weekends. During the holidays, my sister’s house was inundated with students, in bed rolls, who couldn’t afford to fly home to the Mainland, but could afford to fly to Maui.
My nephew “Mikey” was from SoCal. To fly home was an issue, especially depending on the time of year, so he just flew to Maui, but he didn’t have the Kamaaina discounts and he was constantly short of money. As he found out, he needed to get a job to meet his expenses. He ended up dropping out because he spent more time on the job and not enough time studying.
Housing, everywhere will be expensive in Hawaii. I imagine there will be extra fees to go out on the charters while your daughter is getting “hands on” experiences. I like the idea of learning in the outdoor environment but my concern would be the added costs.
Yes, I was going to mention expenses. But, the dorms and meal plans are about the same cost as any college on the mainland. Living costs can be minimized if you’re a frugal student (although I haven’t lived there for many years now, so perhaps it’s far worse now). Still, many students get around on mopeds and, you know, the beach is free. Flying home to CA is the biggest expense; if it’s three trips a year that adds up really fast,
Going to community college with the intention of transferring to a specific, “dream” school can be dangerous. She might (a) be unsuccessful once again, or (b) transfer successfully and then realise it doesn’t live up to her expectations. I would advise working with the great options she already has. The UH Manoa campus is just gorgeous and she would be very unlikely not to fall in love with it! It would be a college experience to remember. What’s more, Hawaii is a perfect place for Env Sci/Oceanography – that’s probably one of UH’s strongest majors too. Those mentioning that Honolulu is expensive – that’s somewhat true. But given the affordability of tuition it would cancel out. Having the Islands to explore over the course of her degree – with all their protected areas – would also be an awesome opportunity for an Env Sci major. So much scope for research. All in all I think the SDSU waitlist might be a blessing in disguise!
Never fall in love with a school. Go with your options. In this case Hawaii, Colorado or State - not sure - you said State which is in Fort Collins but mentioned Boulder which is University of…and UW - which is a great school. Surprised your child got in there but not SDSU.
Your daughter has to decide - does she want a true college experience or does she want to go to a CC. If you want the true college experience, it sounds like Hawaii is the answer. She can control expenses - and it will certainly be a unique opportunity. I don’t think you go to a four year school with the idea of transferring. If you do, you are destined to have a bad experience. You should “want” to have a great experience - and go from there.
Here’s the other thing kids don’t realize - you go through all this analysis to pick your dream school. But guess what - you have a bad professor or roommate, etc. and it goes down the tubes. Or you go to a school you hate and you meet your BFF. It’s all a crapshoot.
But if she goes to Hawaii because she wants that full experience, hopefully she goes with a positive attitude and turns out to make a wonderful decision.
I meant CU Boulder. I fixed that above. We were surprised she waitlisted at SDSU and UCSC, too. That might be part of the problem, though we were trying to temper her expectations, because really they just get way too many good applicants. She had a 4.1, lots of APs, 5 years math, 4 years second language… all the things. I can’t explain it other than to say them’s the breaks, kid.
All good points. I was talking to her even before she knew she waitlisted at the CA schools about how good of a program UH looks like for her. I also think it’s a little smaller department so she’d get some good attention and she has liked all the people she has interacted with on the virtual sessions so far.
Housing costs after the dorms are certainly a concern. The dorms are surprisingly inexpensive, though they don’t look nearly as updated as the other colleges she looked at. I’ll have to look into realistic costs for flights. I imagine it will be worse than it is now when pandemic restrictions clear and demand is high again.
I honestly think she would fall in love with it. I haven’t been there myself in about 20 years (pre kids, ha!) but I loved it. Everyone who knows her thinks she would love it. I don’t know why she’s in a funk about it other than maybe just fear and disappointment about being rejected by other schools.
What are the safety issues? I heard that there are homeless people that gather on campus - is it related to this. Can you please elaborate on the safety of campus. It would be nice to get the input of someone who knows students who personally experienced the campus.
One more suggestion - U of Arizona (easy admit, fantastic merit) - you have until May 3 to get accepted.
It’s an easy app, they take about 3 weeks to turn it around - so spend an hour, get theirs in - and now you have another very solid mainland entry that - depending on her unweighted GPA, will be very affordable. Not sure if ASU (actually a better but bigger school) is still taking apps.
My nephew graduated from there around 2010, so it’s been awhile. He lived off campus because, at one point, the school didn’t have enough housing, so he roomed with a bunch of kids and they rented a really expensive place but split the rent.
The homeless population is in Oahu and is visible. It wouldn’t have made a difference to him because the Hawaiians grow their kids pretty big, and given that a lot of his friends are descendants of Samoan and Tongan tribes, these kids are huge football-player sized. Come to think of it he knew a lot of the Rainbow football team.
Remember that, on the islands, the level of quality for homes/residences is “different” than what we experience here on the mainland at a very expensive cost. (My daughter may be getting a rotation in Hawaii and I have to remind her of that.). Expect double the price of everything.
Honolulu Area has gotten pretty big, and safety should always be a concern. They do have ALOHA, so your daughter will make friends pretty fast and be protected. (On Maui, its a little different with the homeless because the local Kamaaina “grew” up with some of them. They are treated decently and they tend to stay near the Catholic Church because the church feeds them. Many can’t afford the rents, so they live on the beaches.)
I think her response is natural. When a friend of mine got rejections from schools he had expected to get in to, it made him slightly resent the realistic options he now had. Those feelings will run their course. The most important thing is that she come to realise that nothing has really been lost. She has an excellent, affordable school where her major is well-established. Just keep guiding her in the right direction as you are no doubt already doing!
She can go to Hawaii at the affordable cost you mention. If she likes it, she can stay there through graduation. If not, she can go to community college second year and aim for SDSU or other colleges.
We have spent a great deal of time on Oahu, including in situations where we were the only people from the Mainland. Your child will be fine as long as they are open. I have zero worries about the homeless people there no matter how many they are. We’ve spent much time in Waianae which has a very high homeless population. Property crimes are everywhere no matter where you are in the US. Hawaiian culture is very different than mainland culture. If you go, remember that you are a guest and have an open heart and mind. You will be much rewarded.
UH would be great for her specific major (both academically and in terms of extra curricular offerings) and going to college in Hawaii is probably “the dream” for many kids! Since it’s affordable for you and, if she really doesn’t like it, she can always go to CC after freshman year and try to TAG somewhere, I don’t see the downside of going to Hawaii.
Studied and worked a couple years at UH. The education goes beyond classroom!
the oceanography and related faculty/programs/facilities are outstanding.
It’s the most diverse U in country (doesn’t show such in mainland-based rankings bc of they way they merge groups)
Hardest part is leaving.
I’ve never met anyone who lived there and regretted it. It’s quite an opportunity!
