The University of Hawaii - Hilo

Make your decision wisely, but my personal opinion- go for it!

It really depends on the type of person you are I guess, and what you’re into, but personally I love it here and am very glad to have attended here.

You need to go into the experience with an open mind, and just enjoy the fact that you’re living in Hawaii. You do need to know that Hilo, unlike most everywhere else in the islands, is rainy and has very little beach access in surrounding areas—it’s not the Hawaii you in-vision in your mind. But don’t let that phase you, the Big Island has plenty to offer in terms of beautiful white sand beaches in other areas, so there is some good exploring to be had on the weekends. I personally go to the Konaside of the island every weekend.

The city of Hilo is smaller- about 50000 people, so if you’re used to the big city it will probably be an adjustment, but it’s a very laid back town that can grow on you if you let it. It rains often here, but not everyday, and its honestly not that bad. Just like on the mainland it snows during winter, it rains the most here during the winter months…

Coming to the Big Isle I would definitely recommend that you get a car. There is so much to explore and go out and do that it will ultimately be very beneficial for you to do it. I shipped my car from the mainland, but there is also some good auto auctions and places here where you can get a car for a pretty affordable price.

In terms of the dorms”definitely some improvement could be made, but they aren’t too awful. Hale Kehau is the newest of the dorm complexes and is pretty good. Of course there is going to be bugs and geckos outside, and possibly inside, your dorm… but you do live in a rainforest, so that’s to be expected. The food, like most colleges, isn’t very good”so don’t expect it to be.

The campus overall is in pretty good condition. A lot of improvement in recent years has gone into UHH and there is continually new things happening here to make things nicer.

Classes are good here- very small class sizes and a lot of over-qualified professors who would rather live and teach in Hawaii than on the mainland, so I think that the education quality here is pretty good. Definitely comparable or better to other state schools.

Overall, for the cost, I would say you can’t beat it. I’m from the mainland and have adjusted here fine. Hey”not many people can say they got the chance to live in Hawaii, right? Good luck.