University: Hawaii Pacific University

City: Honolulu

Country: United States

Continent: North America

Field of study: business administration

Study type: semester abroad

I took 3 MBA courses at the HPU and would like to briefly tell you the most important things about the university itself, but also about life in Hawaii. I’ll leave out the general stuff and tell you what I particularly noticed or what you should pay attention to. Even if you are studying business administration for a bachelor’s degree or have a completely different field of study, my general tips will help you. Check andyeducation.com to see Vancouver Island University study abroad opportunities.

Organization

MicroEdu can help you with anything. Be it course descriptions, questions about course selection or similar. Thanks to the checklist that you get, it is easy to work through everything and get the visa. The choice of course went to me via email. I was contacted by the HPU and gave my courses. Changes are still possible, but must be made before the courses start, otherwise it will be chargeable and you will pay a large part of the fees. Since you pay per course in the Masters at the HPU, I decided to drop one of my originally chosen 4 courses and then only had 3 courses. Most of the courses are not too difficult if you compare it to German level, but you have to do a lot of assignments, group work and presentations. Therefore, you should think carefully about how many courses you take. You have to take at least 3 courses in the Masters. More about my courses in the “Uni” section.

There are dormitories that have a great location in the middle of Waikiki. However, these are relatively expensive at over $700 for a shared bedroom. It is best to look for your own apartment on site. There are some furnished apartments. The university is downtown. But you want your apartment in Waikiki (possibly Ala Moana), because life happens here. The HPU is a 30-40 minute bus ride from Waikiki. The sites craigslist.com or padmapper.com have proven useful. With padmapper you can display the apartments on a map. It also combines ads from different websites. Just go to www.padmapper.com and enter the Waikiki zip code (96815) and use the filters to narrow your search. One bedroom apartments are the best (so you have one bedroom and usually a sofa bed in the living room). This costs between $1300 and $2000). If it’s shared between two people, that’s fine. 2 bedroom apartments are very hard to find in Waikiki.

University

I had the following 3 courses, all of which were labor intensive but easy in level. Before choosing a course, be sure to check the reviews of the professors by other students on www.ratemyprofessors.com. This gives a good starting point for many of the courses.

OC 6447 Consulting and Group Process:
GOOD, Nice lecturer, Interesting topics

MGMT 6300 International Business Management:
VERY BAD, do not take this course under any circumstances, the bachelor courses in International Management by Prof. Villinger are also not recommended. Ancient videos are shown and the boredom is unimaginable. The exams are not as easy as you might think. It’s a cheek that these courses are still offered!

MKTG 6000 Marketing Strategy for Managers:
GOOD, nice lecturer, very good textbook (although rather bachelor level, many basics)

Students life

You get to know a lot of nice people very quickly. The majority of HPU students (especially in business administration) are internationals. That means many Germans, Norwegians and Swedes. Dollar Night at Mooses on Tuesdays and Senor Frogs on Wednesdays are recommended. Drinks start at $1 here. In addition to partying, Hawaii also has a lot to offer. Whether surfing on Waikiki Beach (very crowded, other spots are better), beach volleyball on Fort de Russi Beach or simply sunbathing on beautiful Lanikai Beach… There really is something for everyone here. If you plan to surf more often, it’s worth buying a used surfboard from craigslist.com. At the beginning, a larger board (longboard) from 8 feet is advisable, as it makes it easier to catch the waves. The waves on the South Shore are rather small anyway, especially in winter.

Travel

If you have the opportunity, be sure to check out the other islands. One way flights start at around $80. I’ve been to Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. All 3 islands were super nice.
Plan at least 3 full days for Kauai, at least 4 for Maui and at least 4-5 days for the Big Island. Camping on Kauai and Maui is very good (but you need official permits, otherwise there may be trouble if you are spotted). Walmart has cheap camping gear and you can find it on every island. We rented houses on the Big Island. If you have 6-10 people it’s very cheap (about $40 per person per night.).

All in all I can only recommend Hawaii. The time there was just perfect and I would definitely do it again.