Hawaii Pacific University

Date: Jan 27 2005
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
Hawaii Pacific University is a decent school. First, they are sort of money hungry, but many schools are like that. The downtown campus is much different from the windward campus. The downtown does have mental ill, homeless people running around the main street(Fort Street Mall) we have to go on to get to our classes. I have seen many things from those homeless, mentally ill people that I haven't even seen coming from Chicago. I would say that is probably one of the biggest concerns that kids have going here. The actual surrounding area isn't dirty, but a majority of them associate the area being dirty because of the homeless people hanging around the street. I have seen recently the security have been doing a better job at keeping the homeless away during the night, however, they are still very much there during the daytime. The school is pretty small, so you will run into the same people a lot. The teachers also do get to know you because many of them teach the lower and upper division classes. If I had to pick whether or not I would of gone here knowing what I had in store for me I probably would of. Even though, I plan on leaving this year. I thought mine experiences over in Hawaii were fun, somewhat of a rude awakening, and educational. But, I have came to think money wise it just isn't worth it. I thought I loved the water and atmosphere enough not to mind how much money I am dishing out for mainly rent. Plus, having a car here is pretty difficult here too. The gas is more expensive here like 2.25 now and if you live downtown or in waikiki you have to pay for parking(about $70 a month). The bus is an option. But, I don't know one person that likes riding the bus. First, it's really not dependable. Plus, some of the people rising the bus are scary. Not to mention, the bus stops are hangouts for the homeless because they think they can get a few bucks off of tourists. I am not staying here because what I thought would be enough here to keep me happy just isn't. It's very different when you are a tourist and when you live here. People have this vision of a beautiful paradise(don't get me wrong the physical beauty is great), but everyday living here takes some adjustment and many kids that go here don't like it and decide to transfer.