Hawaii Pacific University

Date: Jan 23 2012
Major: Public Health (This Major's Salary over time)
I'm almost done with my undergraduate degree in Health Sciences. This is my final semester and I've been here for all 4 years. I've had good and bad experiences with this school, so I'll try to break it down as much as possible.

My major "Health Sciences" is a relatively new program. In the few years they've had it, they've changed the dean several times, made it hard to take upper division classes simultaneously, and a few of the professors have left already. I can literally count how many there are on my fingers, I believe they have 3-4 professors for this major now. Other than that, I really have learned a lot from my upper division classes, however I wish they focused it more on a subject. Health Sciences is REALLY broad, but you have to do more schooling if you want a legitimate and successful career. In the last semester, you are told to find an internship site. You're told to find this all by yourself. There's way too much back and forth between the internship site, you, and career services. I understand the objective, however having to site yourself is difficult if no other student has gone there before.

As for my general education requirements, I actually really liked them. I learned a LOT from the variety I've taken. I've made sure to pick the right professors (opinions from former students). Class sizes are small, your biggest class probably being 25. Professors know me by name and not "hey you". One thing that irks me is that some of the professors take attendance. I feel like I'm in high school when they do that. Other than that, pick the right professors and you'll be okay. I usually wait until the first class to really see if I need the books, because sometimes the professors will "suggest" them rather than require them. It truly depends on the professor.

In terms of the campus, they have 3. Downtown campus, windward campus, and oceanic institute. Downtown campus is rather ugly. There is not set campus area JUST for students. It's all just classrooms in buildings within the financial district. Therefore, you have the homeless and other random characters walking Fort Street Mall right next to you. For the most part, I've never had an issue with random characters because I've paid them no attention. Therefore, I suggest you do the same.

The location of the campus is convenient for me. The commute from Waikiki on the bus really sucks. It's a popular route so expect a 15-minute to hour commute, depending on time, location, traffic, etc. Just variables you'll expect if you're driving a car. I currently live near Ala Moana, so the commute on the bus can last from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. Convenient location, but you pay the price on housing. MOPEDS. They're a fad at HPU… probably Hawaii for that matter. It's quicker for people in Waikiki and other areas close to town, but note the dangers and risks involved in operating it. If you want to have a moped, this portion of my comments is huge for you. Be careful of where you park. Chaplain Lane and those racks on Fort Street Mall and Beretania get full quickly with morning classes. They've started to implement harsh parking tickets if you're parked incorrectly. I strongly suggest trying to find free parking garages to park in. It's less of a hassle because coming back to a parking ticket on your seat isn't fun. The great thing about the downtown campus is the shuttle. They've got bus shuttles to bring you from downtown to windward. Since all my classes are on windward, I'd rather drive to downtown, hop on the shuttle, and save myself some gas and money because you have to pay for parking. The shuttles run every 15 minutes (commute is 20-30 minutes depending on time and traffic), have an ample amount of seating, and some of the drivers are really nice. Not too bad for how much tuition is. Classrooms downtown vary in size, I've had some which were huge and others that were really small. Truly depends on the subject you're taking. If it's not that "needed" amongst the student population, probability is you'll get a small classroom. They have computer labs as well, and even when its busy I've been able to get a computer. The library… needs help. It's really old and outdated. The computers are up to par and rather new, but everything else is just old.

Windward campus has a gorgeous location. It's nestled in right after the Koolau mountains after the Pali Highway. Unfortunately, the campus itself sucks. The buildings are old and classrooms and desks are outdated. If you're taking the bus to Windward campus, PLEASE be careful. In order to reach the bus stops, you have to cross Kamehameha Highway. It's marked for pedestrians, but sometimes the drivers cannot see you. There are no stop lights for it. Recently, there was a fatality of a student crossing from the bus stop to campus. There were also pedestrian accidents from traffic as well. They need to implement a pedestrian bridge for crossing safely.

In my first year, I lived up at the dorms on the Windward side. It sucked. For the most part I made valuable friendships, but in terms of living conditions, the dorms felt like a cell block. Brick walls and no AC. I did have an ample amount of closet space though, for someone who was living with 2 other people in one small little room. The dining commons were open during weird hours (at least for me). I'm accustomed to later meals, so having dinner at 5pm or 6pm was way too early. The food variation was terrible as well. They "changed up" the menu every other week, but after a while it just gets repetitious. They offer this "late night" meal, which is all fried and greasy foods. Good if you like that stuff, bad if you don't.

I have never been to the oceanic institute. I do know that they're located on the Waimanalo side. I also know they have shuttles running from the Windward campus to the oceanic institute as well in accordance with the classes. Not sure how often or how convenient it really is.

Financial aid is located downtown. Throughout my 4 years at HPU, I haven't run across any mishaps with my financial aid and loans. To be honest, I haven't even been to the financial aid office. I wasn't babied through the process. If you want to get your financial aid in the very beginning of the semester, think ahead and get it done a month before the school year starts. Don't lag. Don't wait until the semester's begun to actually file it. Make things simple for yourself and get everything done early. The earlier its done the faster you'll receive your money.

Academic advisors are helpful. They aren't helpful to people if they don't know what to ask them. I've gone there strictly to make sure my classes are set and I'm on the right track to my graduation date so I've had positive experiences. Come in there with a list of things you need to address and everything will work out smoothly. I highly suggest at the beginning of the school year to make a full undergraduate schedule with them. Not just one or two semesters in advanced, but your entire education at HPU. There are some classes that are only offered during certain semesters, so planning ahead makes it easier. Don't lag if you want to get your degree done. Getting classes in my opinion isn't difficult. Even when they are full, you can always ask the professor via email if it's okay for you to enroll because you need the class and petition it from there.

Overall, I love it in Hawaii and HPU. Every college has its pros and cons. For HPU, mine was such a big jumble of positive and negative experiences that I don't even know how to rate it. Would I apply to HPU again with this kind of experience? Yes. Hawaii in itself is amazing so getting away from California and coming here was one of the best experiences of my life. I think the last thing I have to say is that I wish my tuition money would be put to use in improving the outdated equipment and classrooms. For a private education, HPU isn't all that expensive in my book. I think it's almost $20,000 now, but I mean, it's a PRIVATE school. Other private schools on the mainland cost $30,000+.