Hawaiʻi Pacific University — Local services in Honolulu

The faculties here at the registrar and business office are undertrained and not professionals at all! I’ve spent over a few months in my last semester getting a private loan and they’d sent me general emails if I don’t pay I would have financial holds that will not allow me to get my diploma or transcripts which I understood but if I do have a loan coming through to please let them know. I spent over 1-3months letting them know that there is a loan coming but did not go through so had to go through another company which didn’t accept or went through til December. Now tell me why all the calls I’ve made I was told that as long as my disbursements will go through they will waive my late fees. I’ve called in December that the loan has came through but it hasn’t updated in the system unfortunately it was winter break and was told it would be signed off til after holidays which is usually after the 1st week of January. Time went buy and I called again being told multiple times that yes the late fees can be waived just to be transferred to some rudely individual from the business office that they will not do it because the semester is over and I had the loan in too late. Where was all this information when I was going back and forth for months and reminded the employees to keep it in my notes in my account. She told me that there’s nothing, no notes then was interrogated who I spoke to and why I needed them waived. Too bad I did not remember her name ( reminder to all always get their names) but this person really blamed me saying that the semester is over that I should have known the academic calendar that it’s common sense that because the semester is over that I can’t get my late fees off and even questioned my experience asking who told me that. I should not have been talked down like that at all. Like are serious?! I would not be wasting my time dealing calling back and forth and asking for late fees being waived off for months if I wasn’t told that it will be waived off. I am a hard working person but I don’t make enough here so of course as a student with no financial support I asked help to my university and ask where they can help me to reduce what I owed. What kind of support and aid is this university is hiring if they are giving out false information and promises and then blames the student who was just following up what has been told to them. This school has some great amazing professors that care but some of the staff members that they hired has been an extreme let down. What a horrible way to remember my last semester. All this school wants is money, I wished I did...

If you like having your financial aid cancelled the week before classes start, having acadamic advisors who have no clue what they're talking about, and being stranded in student housing with no adequate meal plan, this is probably the school for you. If you like weekly mental breakdowns, constantly asking yourself whether or not HPU is really an accredited university, and being lied to about the status of the accreditation, this is definitely the place for you.

HPU is having issues with accreditation, but rather than being honest with students, they sent out an email saying that they are a "bachelor's general" and "master's general school." What does that even mean? I read their accreditation report and WASC didn't say anything about this.

Also, the staff has messed up my transcript so many times. I was a day into my last semester when I received an email, well after I was told I could definitely graduate, saying that I was two credits short. Okay, fair enough, but then I expect to use my loans to pay for the $2300 class. Nope. HPU wouldn't let me. They also cut financial aid for textbooks before classes even start.

And let's not forget about the time my on-campus loft flooded and the student life staff told me to clean up what was basically a swamp with towels.

No one I know likes this school. My advice? Run. As fast as you can. And don't look back. Don't even apply. You're signing up for the most stressful time of your life.

The only good part of this school is the English department (I was an English major). The instructors in that department actually care about students and their success, but outside of those few people? No one wants to help.

I like to think the nightmare is finally over, but my diploma hasn't arrived yet,...

It's a positive exotic non-traditional college experience...you can get a lot out of it based on how much effort and energy you put into it...whether you are there for one semester/year or a longer college experience. There are internships and career help is available.

Many local Hawaiian students attend as well. The student body for me was very positive, international, diverse, friendly, kind, caring, and attractive. In recent years the HPU campus has been improved and expanded...like the new student dorms/classrooms/student cafeteria/study areas/Esports Zone in Aloha Marketplace in downtown Honolulu which surely will greatly improve the student experience. It's a top place to get an education in the tropical wonder of Hawaii. They do offer scholarships.

I attended the school before the many recent improvements. I initially loved it and lived in a positive student dorm and Iwas doing well academically and socially, but due to personal circumstances I ended up dropping out after around 1 year and I returned to my parent's home in the mainland. I just wanted to decompress and try to recover and regroup and make a comeback but I ended up going through some hard challenging blows in my personal life as a Young Adult and I went through setback after setback in my education and health and career and even Family Life in the San Franciso Bay Area after that....Despite my personal setbacks, I think with the right support and decisions, effort, family, and resources behind you students could find a lot of success and happiness here long-term and Potentially find a path to settling down in Hawaii if they wanted to and if that is right for...