I feel the same about my accepted daughter. Very impressed by our tour in September and Presidential Scholars weekend a few weeks ago. But at the same time it was very “Disney” like. Everything practically perfect!! Leaves you wondering what truly goes on behind the scenes. We are still considering a few other schools. We are headed to Elon for an admitted student visit in March. But HPU is one of my daughter’s top choices. Interested in amount of aid she eventually ends up with. Both HPU and Elon are on the lower ends of her offers so far.
I can’t help with HPU, but a similar life skills focus at Elon really transformed one of my kids from a shy, insecure mediocre student to a bright confident professional. 3 solid internships later, she is graduating into her dream job at a prestigious financial institution. The practical focus worked for her.
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I didn’t realize Elon focused on life skills also. My S19 was accepted there. He didn’t end up going and it was never on my D21’s radar. Good to know.
My son had a fine first year at HPU. Enjoys his classes. Some here called it disney-esque. It basically is. Part of Nido Qebain’s schtick is having a clean, beautiful environment.
There are all kinds of students there. Friendly people and jerks. Wealthy, and not so much. Just like life or any other university.
My son had a 34 of the ACT and was a solid high school student with varied extracurrics. That got us $9k off the tuition via presidential scholarship.
They are planning on opening a DDS dental school in the near future.
One of the great things about having so many universities out there is you the consumer have a lot to pick from. HPU will be great for one kid but not another. Listen to your student and also don’t be too bamboozled by the disney-esque physical plant. It’s real, exceeds typical expectations, and a nice plus; but just one factor.
Look at the other students at the president say weekend; would your child fit in with these kids?
No school is perfect. HPU is a great fit for my son and we are happy.
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We visited it as well. It was beautiful but we felt it was over the top. Everyone was super friendly but we felt (husband and I) it was like attending college at Disneyworld. Just my opinion.
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That’s not a high ranking. It’s not ranked nationally.
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I have a two kids in college now - a small private in DC and a large public in MD. Small private universities cannot compete with big state schools in party atmosphere - not even close. The energy before a Big 10 Football game is amazing. I am a professor at a small private school. Students will get out of college what they put into it. Finding the right fit and minimizing debt is all that matters. Any person who says they wouldn’t hire a person based on where they went to school is an unserious person.
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Skildea- would you drive over a bridge that was designed by a team of civil engineers who graduated from an unaccredited engineering program?
Fit is great. Minimizing debt is great. Having academic standards is also an important component of higher education…
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My family was turned off by the “sales pitch” theme of all the mailers. First choice of classes - if you apply ED. Your very own parking space - if you apply ED. Better and fancier dorm rooms - if you are willing to pay big $$$$.
The school’s rankings aren’t top notch. It just seemed to me if you are pushing that hard to try to convince students to lock themselves in to ED there is probably a reason to shy away from the hype.
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Hi Blossom,
Although you don’t outright state it, your post implies strongly that HPU is not accredited. In fact, the university and its affiliate schools and advanced degree programs are fully accredited. So your analogy about driving “a bridge that was designed by a team of civil engineers who graduated from an unaccredited engineering program” is misleading in this context, or at least you should have clarified that you are not referring to HPU when you bring up unaccredited programs. After all this is an HPU thread.
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Apologies, LaBrea, this was the line I was responding to and I should have clarified that in my post. Thank you for pointing out that my message was misleading.
I would not drive over a bridge designed by civil engineers who graduated from an unaccredited engineering program, because no such bridge exists.
That bridge doesn’t exist because the profession has safeguards to make sure it can’t happen.
But there ARE people working as pharm techs who don’t know where the decimal point goes and why it matters (numerous stories lately about the shocking number of errors made at retail pharmacies because the chains have replaced actual pharmacists with techs who do not have the same level of training.) There ARE people working in “salons” which do actual medical procedures (botox for example) who have paralyzed “clients” (or some might call them patients) because they have an 18 month certificate in cosmetology which is not adequate training for injecting a potentially lethal substance into a human being.
Do you think it’s a good thing for society to allow people with inadequate training to do jobs for which they are not qualified?
Of course it does, and of course you have. The student/grad either has to pass the PE exam or is supervised by someone who has.
I have a friend who went to med school in Granada but is board certified in psychology and neurology.
Kim Kardashian is going to be a lawyer in California and she doesn’t even have an undergrad degree.
There are many roads to a career. The easier one is to go to a certified program, but it can be done in other ways.
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I am glad I read this:) my daughter is interested and a great student but I was reading the negative feedback with concern
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Honestly, I think it is just that HPU’s vibe/school spirit, which is so modeled by Nido Qebein’s entrepeneurial/pro-American/traditional values personality, just rubs some people the wrong way. Some people would rather a large-city, impersonal, activist-centric atmosphere for college and that is fine - it’s just not HPU.
The best thing to do is to interact with students and people there and see if it is a fit. For my son who attends, it is perfect and exactly what he likes, he is thriving there and involved in so many activities he is almost overwhelmed, but he loves it.
No school is perfect and it is more about fit than anything else.
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I also recommend that is there is any question of accreditation of any program at any college raised by a random anonymous internet person (including myself), you should refer to the US Department of Education website to easily research the accreditation status. That website is:
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