My HPU Experience
Written: Jan 15 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: location, location, location. people.
Cons: housing, poor C.S. dept.
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| danda's Full Review: Hawaii Pacific University |
I attended HPU from mid 1993 through 1996.
Okay, so HPU is not Harvard. It doesn't have the history, the prestige, the monstrous tuition, or the giant libraries. What it does have is great location, great weather, a truly international student body, and a unique asia-pacific perspective. And perhaps most important, it has the annual booze cruise.
Why I Chose HPU:
My theory has always been that those who are motivated to learn will do so wherever they are. Plus I wanted to get away, and see more of the world. Preferably some place exotic. With that in mind, location and expense became larger factors in my decision than things such as Ranking in U.S. News & World Report. Given that I can't stand the cold (vacationing yes, living no) anywhere warm was appealing to me, and Hawaii certainly fit the bill. Also, I planned to be an International Business major, and HPU bragged about its international programs and student culture. Plus, at the time tuition at HPU was so low it cost little more than attending a UC here in california, which I didn't really want to do, with their 500+ student classrooms and all the recent publicity about how hard it was to get into classes at a UC. So HPU, with its location, low cost, and small class sizes was a pretty easy choice for me.
The HPU Experience:
HPU does not have a traditional campus. Rather, it has two campuses. The main campus, in downtown Honolulu has no dorms. All students live either in private housing or in university-leased apartments. I don't recommend the latter, as I heard nothing but complaints from the people who used it. The classrooms, library, etc are located spread out along Fort Street Mall (pedestrians only) and Bishop Street. There is very little to identify the place as a campus. It looks like the rest of the downtown area. The biggest tip-off is the over-abundance of twenty-somethings with backpacks milling about in the mall. I should stress that the school really is in the heart of downtown. Skyscrapers surround it. First Hawaiian and Bank of Hawaii headquarters are easy walking distance. So is the state Capitol, Iolani Palace, Aloha Tower Marketplace, and Restaurant Row / Cineplex. It's a nice area, though it tends to be somewhat dead at night. That's okay though, because Waikiki's nightlife is a short bus ride (or drive if you're lucky enough to have a car) away. A lot of people choose to live in Waikiki and commute downtown for classes. Not me. I lived downtown in a highrise and walked 1/4 mile along the mall. But I think the best place to stay is a building called "Honolulu Park Place". It has every imaginable amenity: 2 bowling alleys, a golf driving range, tennis courts, squash, racquetball, basketball, gym, and spectacular views of the city and ocean. Of course, this doesn't come cheap, but if you can find a few friends to chip in, a 2 bedroom apartment becomes affordable. Or just do as I did, and find friends that live there already. ;-)
The other campus, Hawaii Loa, is completely different. It used to be Hawaii Loa college before being acquired by HPU. This is located about 15 miles away near Kaneohe, beneath the towering, breathtaking Pali cliffs, in the middle of dense jungle vegetation. There is a free shuttle between the two campuses that leaves every 15 minutes. There are (co-ed) dorms and a cafeteria here, and I stayed in them my first semester at the school. This has to be one of the most lush campus settings in the world. It gets pretty warm in the summer, and humid. The dorms don't have air-conditioning. Overall, I had a positive experience living at Hawaii Loa and I think it is worth doing at least for a semester. I met some great people and I really enjoyed the natural beauty and tranquility surrounding me. But I was also bothered by a few things. First, all my classes were at the downtown campus, so I had to take the shuttle every day, sometimes twice. Second, I had no transportation, and buses stopped running to that part of the island around 11 pm. My roommate and I learned this the hard way, after a late night in Waikiki. Third, I discovered that I could lease housing with nicer ammenities, plus food, downtown for less than I was paying the college. So next semester it was aloha Hawaii Loa.
The Academics:
As I've stated, I think you can learn anywhere you go, if you want to. I don't imagine that HPU's professors are any great deal better or worse than anywhere else. However, I will say that I never had a problem getting a class, and I never had a class larger than 30 students. The smallest was 5. Now that's personal attention. The other thing I noticed about the professors is that most of them were there because they wanted to be, and wanted to teach. There were no classes taught by graduate students. I enrolled in the University Scholars Program, and I would
recommend this if you get the chance. This program gets you early registration and into some special classes (and banquets). It also gets noted on your transcript and gives you something to put on a resume. Overall, not a bad deal. So anyway, I started out in international business, then decided I was more interested in computers, so I added C.S. to my curricula. I would have to rate HPU pretty poorly in the computer science department. The computers were slow and it took forever before we could even get school email accounts. There weren't too many advanced CS classes offered. Certainly not like you are going to find at M.I.T. Still, true computer geeks learn on their own anyway. I got what I needed.
The Fraternities:
There are none. There are some school sponsored greek societies, but they are "academic societies", not fraternal.
The Student Body:
Hawaii is a very diverse region, and the school perhaps more so. It seems to market itself more outside of the U.S. than within, and thus attracts a very international student body. I met people from all over the world, more than at any time before or since. I would guess the majority of the school population is asian or polynesian, with the rest being from U.S. mainland, European, Australian, South American, etc. Also there is a large military presence in the islands, and the school has programs on several of the bases. One of the most festive days is "Intercultural Day"
when the school puts on a parade and students are invited to perform dances and other performances from their native cultures. Finally, I should note (for the guys) that the year I went to the school (1993), Miss America was an HPU student. Several Miss HPU's have gone on to become Miss Hawaii.
The Graduation Ceremony:
This is very cool. They host it at the beautiful Waikiki Shell. All the graduates receive copious lei's from family, friends, and the school. You haven't lived till you've walked across a stage in front of thousands of people with 30 pounds of wet flowers wrapped around your neck. ha.
I'm done.
Aloha,
-dan
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
danda
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Member: Dan Libby
Location: Mountain View, CA
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 34 members
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