Hawaii Pacific University

Date: Apr 12 2010
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
I transfered to HPU from Boston as a sophomore. I spent the first year living on campus and the second year living off campus. Both years here have been a disaster! I wish I had stayed back in Boston!

First off, if you are really interested in coming here, KNOW WHAT YOU WILL MAJOR IN!!! THis is so important. The school likes to trick students into having to stay extra semesters or having to do summer semesters by not offering all the courses needed to complete your degree plan. For example, I have been waiting for a required class to be offered for my major for three semesters now. I know students in the liberal arts majors having the same problem. When you do get into a class, try to find students who have already had that professor and find out how often they use the textbooks. I've spent a little over $1,000 on textbooks I've never used because the professors didn't assign work from them. And of course the bookstore will not give you a full refund. The libraries are awful. They are too small and usually have very few useful resources on site. The online sources that we get through the school are not bad (we have a school acount with sites like JSTOR and such) but for actual books, you may want to get a public library card, or spend money at Borders or Barnes andf Nobles.

There are three major campuses: Downtown, Hawaii Loa, and Oceanic Institute. I've never been to the Oceanic Institute, so I can't say how it is. The Downtown campus is where all my classes have been. It's located about 30 minutes (about an hour with traffic) from the Hawaii Loa Campus, where the dorms are located. Originally HPU was two separate schools that merged together, which is why the campuses are so far away from each other. The Downtown campus is where the majority of all classes are taught. It is hobo central! It smells awful and there are the craziest looking people around. Thankfully we have an awesome security team, and they keep the school buildings clear of these people, but you will still bump into them as you are walking from building to building. There are a few little resturants around, but be forewarned: they usually only take cash not credit cards. Classrooms are small and need to be updated, and they are set up more like high school classrooms than college classrooms. Not all professors have their own office, because there isn't space to give them all offices. That means that many professors don't have office hours for you to go and get extra help or talk to them. You'll have to set up an appointment with them or talk through emails (but ask which email account they use often, since professors get two HPU email addresses). The school has two computer labs on the downtown campus: the seats here are taken up quickly, so get there early if you need to print (by the way, you have to pay to print).

The Hawaii Loa campus is where all the science major classes are held. They are expanding the campus and adding new classrooms, a gym, a student lounge, and supposedly more parking. Parking is very limited and a permit is required. THe campus itself is beautiful. It is very qioet and peaceful and the landscape is well kept. When it rains, the sports fields do flood, and access to certain areas is restricted. The Academic building is old and classrooms look awful. The school's main auditorum is located here, but it is small and old. There is a computer lab, which is super small, so get there early. Lunch is sold by the dining commons, and some days it is really good, but most of the time it's bad. The salad bar is usually good but doesn't offer variety. My experience at the Hawaii Loa campus was mostly in the dorms. I lived in the dorms for a year. The rooms are old and need upgrading, but they are comfortable. I was lucky enough to be in a room with two other girls and we had our own private bathroom. There's not a lot of space, and only a couple of the rooms actually look like the brochures. The other rooms are cramped, but comfy. The other rooms are suites, two bedrooms and one bathroom each, with five people in each suite. The common areas are in the second floor, as are the RA's rooms. The common room is pretty comfortable, though not big enough for everyone in the dorm. There is limited space in the dorms, and they will go early. If you have classes in the downtown campus, and live in HLC, you need to get up early because the shuttles fill up quickly. This means also having to skip breakfast every so often. The shuttles are always packed and very umcomfortable, adn the drivers are sometimes rude and will pack you in like sardines just to fill the seats. The campus is far away from everything and the bus lines that run by it usually run once every hour, so if you live there, you may want to think in investing in a car.

Student Life programs suck. It is hard to get into clubs and organizations, and because they is no break in the class schedules, many clubs will hold meetings while classes are being held, so a lot of students miss out. The student lounges are small and are always packed. There is no quiet area on campus for studying, except the library. Events happening on campus are not updated often, so sometimes the only way you know something is happening is by bumping into it. No one ever knows who';s in charge of what event and everyone takes their time getting back to you if you email requesting information. First Year Programs for freshmen is probably the only place where you'll get a heads up ahead of time for their events. The campus is too small for big events, so they are usually held off campus, which is terrible because transportation to those events is non-existent, so you have to figure out how to get theere on your own.

Advising is helpful, but there really isn't much they can do to help. This is because most classes are not offered every semester, so even if they come up with a great degree plan for you, you may not be able to follow it. Try to CLEP out of as many requirements as you can to make degree plans easier to fulfill. Also if you are transfer student, most of your transfer credits will not be accepted for your major requirements, so they will count as electives. There is a way around this, and academic advisors are really helpful. Make an appointment with advisors though, as walk in basis is very limited.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend HPU to anyone. The school cares more about making money than helping students. Many departments have had major budget cuts. Professors now have to pay to print out their syllabii to give to students. Students have to pay for a majority of services that should be included in tuition. And they recently cut down credit hours, so students now take less classes than before but tuition went up, so we are paying more money than ever. It's extremely expensive to live in Hawaii. Transportation is awful. Housing is expensive (studios in the bad parts of the island start at $550/month. Close to the downtown campus, studios start at $800/month.) Parking is expensive (there is no student parking lots anywhere except HLC. And you have to pay for parking there on a monthly basis). Hawaii is beautiful and there are many things to do. It's a great place for a vacation, but not for college. There's not that many colleges here and HPU is terrible, but it's considered one of the best on the island. Not because it's good, but because it's the only one.