University of Hawaii at Mānoa

First semester, and it’s horrible. I will adjust this review as I go. I have been to and graduated ODU and TCC in Va with an International Studies degree and Business Admin associates and recently transferred to UH Manoa this semester from LCC… maybe it’s too early but this place is a circus. Over 5 times the tuition here and quite a few library outlets don’t work, the rug is coming up, missing bathroom stall doors, no AC in Keller hall. Since I have been here I have wondered where the money is going and apparently it’s going to the lawyers to keep this telescope that the Native Hawaiians don’t want because there are 13 other ones up there and they are not maintained well. Probably the sports teams but they can’t figure out how to get fans to the football games maybe this season will be better. I have met teachers from LCC that will not work here because of the hiring criteria. They are looking to generate money from research, so they are really not taking in the account of teaching ability which shows… a lot! There is one exception to this rule and everyone in my education discipline loves him and he is really good at what he does. I just don’t understand why the community colleges are doing so well with a solid core of teachers and the services they provide and then come to this. I’m confused and hope all this will get better. Maybe a leadership change would be a good start.

It is bad enough that UHM doesn’t accept credits from community colleges that is WITHIN their own system, but to have people that are suppose to help you with paperwork end up transferring you all over the campus is just plain out frustrating.
Everyone I encounter either doesn’t want to help or claims someone else/​dept is in charge and I need to contact them. When I do get a hold of the depts. they tell me they actually don’t handle w/​e I need help with and need to go someone else. I get passed on and on to different people/​depts who are unable to answer/​solve my questions and problems.

The state university for the great state of Hawaii on Oahu… we took time to run by the University of Hawaii Manoa. It was sort of a nice campus but the architecture was really boring… it was mostly paved concrete and flat angle buildings. Roughly half the buildings seem to date to the World War II era or maybe Korean War. Some of the newer buildings are trying to break the trend but they have a long way to go.
The really interesting part of the university was the architecture in the East-​West Center and the Korean Studies Center on campus. For some reason these areas have older buildings but are styling the gorgeous architecture of the period. All in all it was fun to visit but the University of Hawaii (Rainbows or Rainbow Warriors) needs updating especially as its the landgrant college for the state.

This review is of the campus only.
I visited my cousin who is on his last year here!
This campus is so lush and green! The layout of the university is perfect. The dorms are so close to campus and parking for visitors is close to everything.
There is security everywhere and staff are visible everywhere you go.
If I didn’t go to school in California I would have loved to attend here.
I’ll be back to visit my cousin again and maybe attend his graduation.
I’ll take more time to walk around and take pictures… Which I didn’t get a chance to do this go around.

Unilocal 100 Review Challenge 2015: ⁴⁵⁄₁₀₀
It’s been 2 whole years since I walked out the doors of UH Manoa with my Bachelor’s degree and looking back, I am glad I saved so much money by attending my local University to achieve a higher education degree.
PROS
+Cost: Whether you’re a resident or non-​resident, UH’s tuition is hard to beat despite it’s gradual tuition, fees, parking and dorm price increases.
+Unique: Maybe not so much to locals but for many foreign/​non-​resident students, UH Manoa is unique and different. The weather is well tempered, allowing majority of the campus to be open air and vastly spread out. In addition, the diversity of students help make anyone feel welcomed. There are many clubs and student organizations but you must «put yourself out there» to get involved and not just stay cooped up in your dorm or remain simply a Commuter-​Student.
+Campus Jobs: Great for students, surplus of jobs available, flexible schedules and pays pretty well.
CONS
–Parking: For my entire 3 years at UH Manoa, parking has always been an issue. Daily parking is expensive and monthly parking passes are given at seniority (which finally benefits you once you’ve accumulated enough credits! But until then…). There’s some street parking on Dole St. but be aware that a number of students have gotten their cars broken into and mopeds stolen. And of course there’s residential parking, but don’t park too close to a driveway or fire hydrant because the residents have no problem calling the police and getting your car towed.
–Class availability: We all know that getting classes that work for your schedule (especially working students), meet your degree requirements and have a decent professor instructing are few and far between. Come registration time, people are either jumping for joy like they’ve won the lottery or on the brink of tears because once again, they are one semester behind because they didn’t land a seat in their biology pre-​requisite.
–Leadership: UH Manoa, like many other state universities, is political making the quality of education not always the top priority. Enough said.
–Food: Both lower and upper campus food is awful and expensive. If you can hike your way down to Puck’s Alley or 7/​11, your money will be better spent on more nutritional food that’ll help prevent Freshmen 15!
CONCLUSION
UH Manoa is an affordable options for students to obtain their higher education degree.
(I haven’t reviewed the new gym in Campus Center since my entire 3 years attending, it was under construction.)

If you are looking for a school with a laid back lifestyle, this place is for you. Go class, bang out homework, go beach! The weather is always perfect, the campus is in the middle of the grand Manoa Valley. Everything is natural, the cracks in the ground, the water falling from the roof, its a great way to feel at one with nature at all times. The tradition and culture is incredible, they really stick with it; using the same curriculum since 1995, they refuse to go mainstream and update class structure. They are so diverse! I am currently taking Linguistics and instead of reading 50 pages a week from one book (like other single minded Universities) I get to hear the same thing twice! first from, Ohio states: Language Files, an introduction to Language and Linguistics; and Contemporary Linguistics, an introduction. Sure, its double the work with the same outcome but, I just totally love reading! It is unforgettable! With no air-​conditioning in the main study Library Hall, you are constantly reminded of Hawai’i, the Sun and humidity that make the greenery so green. Seeking an academic adviser is always an adventure and once you finally find one that suits your major, you can both learn about wtf you need to do to graduate together! THE BEST PART: they encourage you to take it easy in the summer by doubling tuition for summer session. Its genius, it makes no sense, its perfect! why would I graduate sooner when I could be at the beach???

Review is mainly for the campus bookstore.
Came here to buy souvenirs for the mainland folks who wanted items bearing of course the UH logo. Even though we know that H-​Zone at the Ward Center has it, we came here anyways. Coming here, we never knew how big and spread out this campus was! I mean, if you’ve never been here, you don’t know where to go and what building is where. Luckily, we found the main entrance kiosk off of Correa and there was someone there who guided us. She even gave us a free parking for an hour so that we can shop there. Shaka Sistah!
As for the bookstore itself, it wasn’t quite I had imagined it. It was I say, 70% capacity. And by that, I mean they could’ve put more items on the shelves as it was bare. I do have to say though, it is quite large and after I had talked to a few folks, I learned that a lot of workers are students and because of the tests that get in the way, not much gets done here. As for the selections, it wasn’t much. We actually bought some Hello Kitty items that was on clearance (no UH logo) and a few other book related items. So with the reputation of UH, I hope that there would be more licensing goods to show off the school the next time we’re in town.

I am in the PhD program for Educational Psychology. This is an excellent program! I am so happy I selected this program to study at. The chairman of the department is knowledgeable and helpful, and the professors are truly excellent. Hope to see you in class!

Coming from California I really didn’t know what to expect going to college and living in Hawai’i. I must say that my time spent here was well worth it. If you’re coming from out of state and looking for a college experience I would highly recommend UH. Just come here with an open mind and understand this is not the mainland. If you can come here optimistic and ready to experience many different types of cultures then I guarantee you will never want to leave. Mahalo UH for giving me a great college experience!

Proud Alum. Loved my experience here. For those who complain about the dorms, I will say, I chose to live off campus — and I loved, greatly appreciated the urban experience. I did not want to attend a school where I was trapped on campus.
I liked that there was a mix of ages in my classes. Too many Universities are populated solely by with people right out of high school 18 – 22 years of age. I found I learned more by having classmates my age, in their 30s, 40s even retirees. We learned from each other as much as we learned from our professors.
In the higher level courses I had no trouble getting the attention of my professors because the classes were small, but here is a tip for those of you in the huge freshman level courses: make an appointment to see your professor and get to know them. Most of them are absolutely charmed to learn you actually have in interest in learning.
The beauty of campus has been mentioned by other reviewers: the trees, flowers etc are a lovely mix. Can’t say much about the parking because I was riding my bike. Why wouldn’t you? The weather is always perfect!

I’ve been a student at UH for 4 semesters now, and I can honestly say, I have never regretted a decision as much as the one I made to come here. It’s terrible. Everyone is required to take certain classes including Chemistry, English, Math, and History, basic stuff, right? No. Maybe if the professors could actually teach it would be easy, but they can’t. Either that, or they refuse to.
I graduated with honors from high school, taking multiple AP classes each year since my sophomore year. Those classes were actually taught by teachers and professors who gave a damn about what their students got from the class, you definitely can’t say that about professors at UH. sure, there might be the occasional gem, but they’ll be teaching something like Photography, or Dance, or Food Science. Heaven forbid they have a good professor teaching Chemistry or Pre-​calculus. Don’t even get me started on the TAs who can’t even speak English half the time.
I don’t know what possessed the higher-​ups in the departments to use Pearson’s «MyMastering» program to teach subjects, but they should be fired. Right. Now. This program is everywhere, Math, Art, Film, Science, it’s ridiculous. The homework rarely fits what is taught in the lecture, and if it does, it’s only as a part of another, much more complicated problem that can’t be solved without additional information. The answers are wrong half the time, and each incorrect answer subtracts points from your score, so even if you get it right, if you guessed wrong a few times, say hello to 66% for that question. Sure, the review tools would be helpful, if the professor actually put any of it on the exam. The E-​book is pointless since you bought the actual «textbook» anyway just for the code.
The bookstore is a joke. Sure, they’re slightly cheaper than some online places, but at least if you purchase a book online you can get a hardcover version. I’ve purchased at least 4 250 $+ textbooks here only to find that they’re just 400+ loose pages with holes punched in them and an access code for that stupid «My Mastering» program. I mean, are you kidding me?
Most of the professors who are here are way past their prime, speaking in bubbles of information, and leaping off into random tangents that mean nothing and are extremely confusing for the student. Finding classes is a chore. my UH-​specific e-​mail address is full of spam mail from the local businesses that I guess sponsor UH. I can’t tell you how many times I got an e-​mail alert from my UH-​specific e-​mail only to find an advertisement for some restaurant I’ll never go to.
Everything about UH is so pathetically bad that you’ll find yourself annoyed that you even woke up to go to class. Sometimes it’s the small things, like the staff being rude, and sometimes it’s the big things, such as introductory course professors who have near 100% FAILING rates continuing to teach the same course semester after semester.
Sure, maybe it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be, but this has been my experience so far. Now, this wouldn’t be much of a review if I didn’t list at least one good point, right?
Well, here it is: The Rec Center. It’s a beautiful building, but it was only completed about a year ago, so that might change in the future.
Take it from a current student, go ANYWHERE ELSE but here. Save yourself a lot of sleepless nights and frustration. I’m stuck here because I can’t afford anything else, don’t be one of the thousands of poor Freshmen who won’t read this and end up at this excuse for a University next Fall.

This is probably the WORSE fucking university that exists in this planet, like LITERALLY! I completely regret coming to this school. Oh If you are going to ICS degree, please do not bother, you will just waste your money and time. You won’t learn anything. The department itself does not even support me with jobs and internship, its like «if you are smart, you are supported but if your stupid, you’re own your own son» FUCK THIS SCHOOL
I want to add something, professors tend to mess up your graduation by not giving the grade that you deserve no matter how hard you tried. I won’t say this professor’s name but, just avoid this program. You are better off somewhere else if you want to pursue computer science degree. I should known better and went to HPU instead. You get what ‘you’ pay for. UH, all they know is give nothing but trouble to students and suck up your pocket yet not get anything out of it. FUCK UH

The UH Manoa is definitely a beautiful campus, but sadly it’s been in the news for the wrong reasons; its administration has been in quite a bit of hot water lately.
Every time I’m in the area, I make it a bit to stop by and walk around, and sometimes even check out some of the departments and see what their class and program offerings are like. There have been a lot of renovations over the years and there will continue to be in the near future. For instance, Campus Center has really changed a lot and there’s also a new fitness and student recreation center right next door. Even the Bookstore has gone through some major changes.

I went to UH for my masters of education. I had different classes as I started out living on Molokai and then transferred and moved to Oahu to go to school full time. I totally enjoyed my time at UHM.
UH is Beauty. The campus compared to anywhere on the mainland is hands down better– No University in America besides UHM is in a rainforest– so it has got to be the best regardless of what anyone else says. The flowers and trees are among the most gorgeous I have seen on any campus that I have visited. Some– not all (I’m thinking mostly of all the construction) of the buildings are quite fitting into the surroundings and blend classroom space to medium sun to pure open air seamlessly, I’m thinking of the café that goes from dead looking dominos pizza to friendly café tables to open air mezzanines.
UH is community. There are Harry Potter geeks, Goths, Jocks, tat flaunters, band members, and then people being people gathering in racially and linguistically diverse groupings. There are clubs and groups of students and professor led initiatives. There are places to join and find yourself regardless of what you are interested in.
UH is a research center. I’m thinking of the UH Lab school, CDRG that designs and implements curriculum, practical education practices that are taught to other Pacific Island nations– I mentioned I was an education major. But not only that– if you came up to me and asked where I would want to study about volcanos– yes you could go to do that in Chicago but I would recommend UHM or UHHilo because UHM is a research school same with anything about studying the ocean– yes you could go to a school in CA but the way the ocean tides work– waves hitting and pressing against CA verses how currents move around the Pacific — I would study at UHM. UHM has many local professors and the top researchers from around the world doing research here at UHM. Just look at the grad school TA ships to know that the school is a research heavy institute. Also the fact that they don’t offer any more lower level classes (which I highly object to).
UH has ambassadorial roles here in the Pacific. Where does the Secretary of State go first when there is a meeting needed for the Pacific Island Nations– Here in Hawaii at the East West Center. Where can you learn more about mun or pasir or unique Papa nui guinea — the traveling exhibits, classes or other events sponsored by the East West Center. I bet they know more about geography than Carmen Sandiego. I have been lucky enough to find at the time I was there the geography alliance a club at UH mainly for teachers– we have many wonderful events and classes by passionate people interested in sharing cultural understanding not just knowledge.
My parents in their infinite wisdom compare the freedom of Universities to that of retirement homes. Old peoples homes have all the same freedoms that college students have — no kids or parents telling you constantly what to do– being embarrassed if someone does show up uninvited– able to go to the gym and feel like you accomplish something when all you did was 1 set of 10 reps on a low weight setting on a machine– pool (the swimming kind) –pool (the billiards kind) and pool parties the not doing anything kind. Really there are more amenities than one will ever have in life until becoming a billionaire or gaining choice property in a huge highly financed retirement community that has huge due fees to pay for everything that is standard in big name universities. It really is wonderful to see all of the activities and abilities to use from the student center and all of the campus offerings compared to a working career normal life.

A large (by island standards) beautiful campus that is marred by 1 big problem. That being a lack of parking. Whether attending here as a student or coming for an event in particular a sporting event, don’t be surprised to find your self getting frustrated as you end up parking far away off campus in the surrounding neighborhood. The campus parking enforcers are quick to hand out pricey tickets.
Luv the campus, support & luv the athletic teams.

This university has a number of different facilities around campus. There’s a track, football field, student dining center containing several non chain dining restaurants a student center, with chain restaurants, two libraries Hamilton and Sinclair, a small farmers market, coffee shops and more.
The parking is horrible here. I just found out that the parking in zone 13 which is one of the few convenient parking areas on campuses charges $ 12 per time slot. I’m not sure if the machine is broke, or if U. H is trying to screw students over by charging such high fees but its probably better to use the coin meters that are located around the perimeter of the campus or pay for parking at the main parking structure which is around $ 5-​$ 6.
This campus has always seemed to be making improvements in the structures of the buildings. There is often construction work being done, either in the renovation of restructuring of new buildings being erected here. Which is great.
U.H offers a u-​pass each semester so bus rides are free. The student I. D will also get you into many student activities hosted by the student activities staff which includes football games and movie showings.

An awesome campus… then again, this is really the only «big» college we have here. It’s huge! If I had planned to go to school on the mainland, I’d imagine it’d look similar to this campus. It’s crazy big… a little intimidating. A lot goes on around campus. You can see some pretty awesome stuff, meet some pretty awesome people and try out some pretty awesome new adventures… and that’s pretty awesome. The teachers (most of the ones I took) are really cool and actually great at what they do. It’s expensive though. As fun as it was, as great an experience as it was, it took its toll on my wallet. Not to mention my gas. Idk how people who dorm and have no job can afford their parents money and NOT have angry parents.
But as I said, it’s a great school filled with great adventures. Plus… most of their bathrooms are really clean. I should know… I used at least one in every single building ;-)

This review is for the Hawaii Pacific Islands Kava Festival 2013.
I came, I saw, now I don’t feel bad about missing the other past events. We got here about 11:30 and there was not that much people here. I cant say how much people there was later but we stayed only til noon or so.
Pretty much every kava I tasted there was watered down and weak with the exception of the Fijian Kava. The Waka moonshine was king. I bought a bottle of the waka moonshine and a half lb. of the pure waka root powder. You can tweak this stuff to your potency liking. This stuff was pretty good I have to say. But not as good as the stuff I tasted on the Big Island at the Kea’au farmers market. This stuff did numb the mouth far better than the others though.
There even was a taste test survey. What the hell was that about? I asked which one was the strongest and one of the guys tell me we’ll tell you after. After when? After you tally the survey? Well, I can tell you now, I didnt need no tally to tell me which one of the six we tasted was the stongest. They all tasted really watered down. You’d have to drink a lot to get a buzz from either one.
I dont know about you but when I drink kava I dont want to beat around the bush. I want to get straight to the point. The buzz, the heady, the euphoria and the loss of equilibrium so to speak. Then just kick back and relax and just go with the flow.
They did have live music entertainment and food booths. If you went to the Portuguese bean soup booth, winnah! You didnt have to look for the ham hock. It was full of chunks with almost every scoop. We also picked up a couple tee-​shirts too. This years shirts only had three styles with the kava festival spill on the front but no 2013 on it. They had 2010 shirts but I didn’t attend that one.
Finally, I suggest they should take that picture of the off that promotes the Kava Festival. To me its misleading because I expected to see some Fijians there mixing at a kava bowl and there was nothing that came close to that picture. Really, am I that nieve? Hahaha!

As a visitor, we got a special tour from a good friend who works at UH which made our solidified our decision to apply for grad school there.
It’s a beautiful campus with much history and hidden gems! From the charcoal mural in the library to the Japanese garden/​waterfall that provides clean water for the taro fields… it’s a history geeks playground.
We also got some ono grinds from the student union and damn, I wish I had the choices during my undergrad! Tuna belly? Yes please!!! And they are very green conscious too. What made me feel at home is the fact they provided take home bags and had boxes of tin foil to cover and save your food for later!
The staff is great, the professors really cared about our knowledge on the program and finding our best fit not just academically but also personally.

I would advise anyone pursing a degree at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa to look else where and only consider this as a last resort. You will be plagued with problems from every department due to the lack of accountability and professionalism of the staff. I would also high advise you stay away from the College of Education advisors and especially Melvin Spencer 3^rd. If this is education then god help us all!!!