University of Hawaii - Manoa

<p>I want to know more about this college. Is anyone looking at this college or do you attend. Is it as laid back as it sounds? I get some laughs when i tell people that i am interested in Hawaii for college. People dont seem to think you can get work done there. Please tell me your thoughts</p>

<p>haha I have an uncle that went there for a semester back in the early 80's.
Everyone was sorta surprised he wanted to go there.
haha wats funny is he came back a Buddhist :D:D He dosnt actively practice it today though :P He said Hawaii was gorgeous but not really academically geared. </p>

<p>Today its the same thing. Hawaii isnt really known for its academics.
If u want a sunny/beach environment that is more of a 1st tier school (academically ranked) look at the following schools:
look at schools in Cali and Fl:
examples:
USC, Cal, UCLA, UCSB (beachfront), Florida State, UMiami, UF. </p>

<p>IF u really want Hawaii, try it out. u never know, u might end up loving it that u stay there ;)</p>

<p>I had a friend who went there for a year and he hated it. He was a good student, but he wanted to go to school in Hawaii (he loves surfing). The buildings at the school are very run down and most of the students are more interested in clubbing, smoking weed, and going to beach than school. Apparently the teachers are pretty mediocre too. The worse thing about UH-M was the attitude towards whites. If you aren't a native, it's pretty difficult to fit in.</p>

<p>I was flipping through a book, and they had a lust of schools with the unhappiest students. I think U of Hawaii was on the top.</p>

<p>Does any one have anything good to say about Hawaii?</p>

<p>Well, something good: it has one of the best Japanese programs in the nation.</p>

<p>If you want to study something else, though... well, I hear the programs aren't so great.</p>

<p>well I'm from Hawaii and I'll say that the weather here is great, people are so friendly and UH Manoa is not actually as bad as it sounds. We have some very knowledgeable professors who mainly come here to either work on oceanology, meterology, etc. etc. Undergraduate studies are fine here but you may want to consider somewhere else for grad</p>

<p>Thats good to know. How is the city, does it have a lot of night life and such?</p>

<p>Thanks for asking about this because it's been on my mind too.. I'm currently a junior ny residency and in the fall I'm thinking about applying to hawaii pacific.. people do find it amusing because it's so far away but the out of state residency that attend hpu was somewhat over 50%.. </p>

<p>anyway, I'm wondering the same thing.. anyone know anything about hawaii</p>

<p>^As someone from FL, both UF and Florida State share a reputation of being party schools - not academically focussed. </p>

<p>I was also wondering about this school because it keeps showing up on lists when I look for History PhD programs (it's one of the only schools with a global history program). Other than that I don't really know much about it.</p>

<ul>
<li> Most big state schools have a party reputation. Dosnt mean they are not academically strong. UF is def strong in academics. Look at its rankings, endowments and selectivity. FSU might be more of a party schol*</li>
</ul>

<p>"Does it have a Night Life?"
Off course it does! Ur pretty close to the beaches and downtown so u should find a lot to do. Hawaii is made for Outdoors. From Hiking the mountains to swimming/surfing in the beaches. Social life is great there.</p>

<p>Negative:
- academics. UH dosnt have much of an academic reputation. its a third tier school and im really not sure how long will it take UH to ever be a nationally ranked tier 1 school. Although overall academic reputation isnt great, it does have solid programs.</p>

<ul>
<li>Tuition: OOS tuition with all other expenses such as housing included would prolly come out to around 25k. frankly, Its pretty expensive for the quality of education ur getting. However im sure they give good scholarships to attract a more geographically diverse student body. </li>
</ul>

<p>Look if u want solid academics, UH isnt the place unless ur looking for a specific prgram their good at.
Why not do an exchange program there? go to a nationally ranked school and go for a year to UH. You can go, see everything for a year (should be enough time to explore an island), then u come back, and in the end u will graduate from a school with great academics and still have lived in Hawaii.</p>

<ul>
<li>Most big state schools have a party reputation. Dosnt mean they are not academically strong. UF is def strong in academics. Look at its rankings, endowments and selectivity. FSU might be more of a party schol*</li>
</ul>

<p>I know many people who either attend or have already graduated from both UF and FSU, including individuals in the honors programs. Not a single person I personally know has considered either school to be academically rigorous or challenging. Granted, this is anecdotal information, but I think sometimes this speaks more loudly and clearly than rankings. They might be selective for out of state applicants, but that doesn't change their academic reputation. This is based on the undergraduate experience only, however, and shouldn't be taken as a perspective on UF's law school or graduate programs. I'm not trying to knock on either school, but if the OP wants to go to UH, I don't think recommending UF or FSU based on the premise that the weather is the same but the academics are better is really a fair statement.</p>

<p>UH gives huge scholarships to OOS students.</p>

<p>Hey guys I'm from Hawaii, so I can help clear some things up. </p>

<p>The education is perhaps one of the most debated topics regarding UHM. To be honest, the education isn't superb; the academically talented people from Hawaii are encouraged to go OOS, mainly to (1) get a new perspective [after living on a rock their whole life], and (2) get a "better" education. Granted, UHM isn't terrible: as HIgirl said, the ocean and rock sciences (oceanography, meteorology, geography, etc) are excellent considering Hawaii's unique geographical formation and structures. Psychology, and a few social sciences, are also pretty good. The other majors are, for the most part, average in comparison to the other universities nationwide. If you're serious and want to be a doctor, I'd suggest somewhere else. </p>

<p>Also, to clear up the cost, in-state residents pay about 5k while OOS pay about 15k. It isn't expensive, and for instate residents at least, it's actually a worthwhile option to go to UHM for one year and transfer out. Many smart students I know actually are doing that this upcoming year.</p>

<p>From what I know in the local papers, dorming is one of the worst parts of UH. The dorms aren't great; UHM was ranked as having one of the worst dorms nationwide. My cousin went there about ten years ago, and she realized that she couldn't use the laundry services because the people would steal her good clothes. Therefore, she resorted to doing her own laundry (not to make her sound lazy, but I thought I should note it). </p>

<p>Aside from that, the environment and the people are great. The nightlife is excellent, with Waikiki, the major tourist sport, being a five minute drive from the campus. After a while, though, you'll hate Waikiki for being so expensive and so busy. Nonetheless, Honolulu is so close you could literally walk to some places on the outer edge of the city. During the day, there are a ton of attractions to visit, and the swim spots are great if you know where to go. Hawaii truly is a paradise, and that's a major reason why people who want to get more out of college than simply an education enjoy UHM. </p>

<p>Socially, nearly all the locals are friendly if you don't offend them. The prejudice toward whites (haoles, as we call it) arises from a court case that I don't want to explain if not asked. However, just make sure you don't make offensive comments that are derogatory to Hawaiians--to the Hawaiian born students, being Hawaiian is something to be proud of, and dissing the Hawaiian life and culture will surely make you an outcast in the eyes of locals. It's quite hard to do this unless you're really blunt and unthoughtful, so everything should be okay. </p>

<p>All in all, UHM is a great place for people who don't place academics as a major factor in their future college. Students can get an all-around great experience by coming to Hawaii, and can meet people from all over the world.</p>

<p>And visitors to the island should that there is a distinction between native Hawaiians and the various Asian and white residents/imigrants. It is not a negative distinction, just the facts of the situation.</p>

<p>Traffic is among the worst I have ever seen.</p>

<p>Yeah, downtown traffic is pretty bad, especially during rush hour. Just don't drive between 6:30-8 AM and 3:30-6 PM.</p>

<p>What else is wrong with the droms other than the clothes? and how is public transportaion around the island</p>

<p>The dorms are very old and aren't well kept up. My friend's dorm had roaches in it. Your instate options (Colorado @ Boulder, Colorado State) are much better than Hawaii.</p>

<p>I wouldn't say that ALL dorms are terrible quality and have roaches. Some of them, I agree though, aren't well kept.</p>

<p>Transportation is easy if you have a car. Unlike other places, getting from one side of the island to the other side takes about 45 minutes tops. You can really spend a great deal of time at one side of the island and drive back with time to spare. The west side of Oahu is notorious for traffic though; if you get caught in the wrong times, you'll be stuck for a while. Luckily, most of the attractions and, pardon my bias, "good things" are not on the west side of the island (except the waterpark, a few malls and whatnot). Therefore, you shouldn't really have to worry all that much.</p>

<p>Most of the things can be found with a reasonable driving distance from Hawaii, and by reasonable, I'm talking ten to fifteen minutes. That's "reasonable" here. There are buses you can take, and there are bus stops like everywhere on the outer edge of the campus. In essence, transportation is easy and quick if you don't get caught in rush-hour traffic.</p>