<p>"Well, something good: it has one of the best Japanese programs in the nation."
The statistics and stuff that support hat argument are flawed. 27.3% of the student population are of Japanese descent. If a third of your students have Japanese parents, are Japanese themselves, then is the Japanese program really that good, or are there just a ton of Japanese people in it? I don't know, prospective students should consider this and maybe consider other colleges with good Japanese programs which don't have such a sizable population of Japanese people. Unless of course the goal isn't to learn the language but instead to hang around Japanese people. If that's your goal, by all means come to Manoa.
Statistics from - <a href="http://www.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/iro/maps?semaf02.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/iro/maps?semaf02.pdf</a></p>
<p>UH Manoa is a terrible school by nearly every measurement. There is an insane amount of red tape, mediocre academics, and a terrible study body. As an out of state student you will be flying thousands of miles to go to a commuter school. Despite the fact that you might be paying twice what residents pay, you will be treated as s second class citizen. Don't take my word for, just look at the Manos housing policy:
Eighth Priority:
Students from the mainland and foreign countries.
(<a href="http://www.housing.hawaii.edu/apply/asgnterm.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.housing.hawaii.edu/apply/asgnterm.cfm</a>)
That site is also a great example of the red tape. There is absolutely no visibility in UH office practices. Figuring out where you stand exactly in that priority system is pretty complicated, but I'll simplify it: You're at the bottom. There a quite a number of horror stories involving people showing up and not having housing or having to wait. It might not happen to you but, what would you do if on arrival you were told you'd have to wait two weeks? Lol, two weeks in a Honolulu hotel? </p>
<p>It's really hard to convey just how bad this school is. Especially because of complacency. "It's Hawaii, what are you going to do" or credibility "You're just an angry Hoele" Yeah well I just want to bring to the attention of anyone considering Manoa one figure. Its the 4 year graduation rate. It is 11%. (collegeresults.org) That is incredibly bad. Even mediocre state schools hover around 40%. Whats worse is that most students don't care, the 'pace of life' means that most people don't expect to graduate in 4 years. 50% of students graduate in 6 years. That is insane. Thats like spending 5 years at a community college. There are a few explanations for it, none of them are good. One really bad one is that classes are not set up for 4 year graduations. In some majors, vital classes are offered sporadically and it's not uncommon for people to spend another term, or two. Anther statistic I'd like to point to is Retention. Manoa has about an 75% one year retention rate, i.e retention of first years. (<a href="http://www.hawaii.edu/ovppp/mop/mop05brochure.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.hawaii.edu/ovppp/mop/mop05brochure.html</a>) and Manoa's student population is about 69- 75% residents. (<a href="http://www.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/iro/maps?semaf02.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/iro/maps?semaf02.pdf</a>) Now this is only a correlation, and I have neither the time, inclination, nor 0day statistics to work with, but that 15% of people leaving, its a good bet that it is in large part nonresidents. People LEAVE Manoa, because IT IS A BAD SCHOOL. </p>
<p>I repeat: Do not go to UH Manoa. If you are for some reason compelled to, I would suggest going there for a summer. You will be surrounded by people also there just for the summer, be able to do all the stuff Hawaii is known for, and not be stigmatized by a worthless degree from a bottom tier university.</p>