First of all, in a nutshell: Studying in Hawaii is more expensive than anywhere else, but you have the right to stay for at least four months in a place in the world that many will never go to, or at most on vacation. If you feel like a lot of paradise and spectacular nature, unlimited beaches and surfing, or just want to escape the European winter, choose Hawaii Pacific University. Those who want to be challenged in terms of content and content do not choose HPU! If you want to get to know a lot of Americans, you better choose the American mainland !!

Preparation:

• Apply for the Auslandsbafög 6-9 months before the start of the semester abroad
• Provide proof of assets for the amount of expenses calculated by the American government. I was asked for $ 17,500. This is only a condition for receiving the I20 form! The actual total expenses will be less, fear not!
• Apply for a VISA • Apply
to your website (the easiest step, the university will definitely take you), and your website will advise on all preparatory
steps • Book a plane after receiving the VISA (I can’t say for sure whether it’s cheaper comes, the earlier you book, I’ve heard the opposite from others), Skyscanner.de is a very good search engine, at least for the outbound flight from Germany
• Network on Facebook: Hawaii Pacific University – Official (…) Incoming Student Group (instead of… is the respective semester, e.g. Fall 2013)

University

• If you are in the Bachelor, choose the minimum number of four courses, if you are also involved your home university can organize. Analogue for master’s students, with the minimum number of three courses! Reason: the courses require weekly preparation and follow-up work (assignments, reflection papers), if you choose five courses, you have nothing from living in Hawaii
• Content requirements are at 12th grade! You may have to read and write a lot, whoever pulls this off, or can even bumble through without reading books, has the A for sure!
• In some courses the purchase of numerous expensive text books is required. In other courses these are not needed at all. Do not buy any books before the first week in which you discuss what is really needed with your lecturer. Unfortunately, the HPU’s expensive bookstore is often the only solution. Amazon and eBay require order periods of several weeks, books offered in the Facebook group and on craigslist rarely correspond to what you need, especially since the lecturers often require the most recent edition every year.
• Personal tip: choose Business Law I at Randal Lee: the whole You didn’t have to do anything in the semester, he left out mid-term, you could take the final exam home with you and go through the next lesson together. All got an A.
• What I found very unfortunate: the opening and orientation events are relatively weak, the socializing is limited … there is still an orientation offer from the HPU, for which you have to pay an extra 150 $, I didn’t see it, It could be that you quickly come into contact with other students there.

Apartment

• If possible, fly to Hawaii early (ie at the beginning of August or even at the end of July), book a hostel for a week, you can always extend it – Waikiki Beachside Hostel is that Biggest
• On-site apartment hunt: I recommend Waikiki, Downtown or Ala Moana as a place to live
o Waikiki, Ala Moana: close to the beach, close to the clubs and bars
o Downtown: close to the university, but rather a strange area at night (lots of homeless people and drug addicts)
• www.craigslist.org is the biggest website for looking for an apartment
• The best thing is: to secure the apartment quickly, then you are in a comfortable position to choose his roommates. You will definitely find some, preferably in the Facebook group Hawaii Pacific University – Official Incoming Student Group, or talk to the people in the hostel, there are many new semester abroad students starting there in August
• Living alone is so good as priceless, you will have to live in shared flats, housing costs are even at WG will still be at 600-900 dollars a month depending on the neighborhood and location

Life

• Under no circumstances should you start your semester abroad without a credit card (preferably the VISA from the DKB)
• To keep fees and transaction costs to a minimum: large sums of money from the ATM with the credit card, ideally everything you need roughly for the entire time, (Unlimited amounts are almost only available in the ATMs of the ABC stores in Waikiki) and ideally deposit into an account that you open in one of the local banks (e.g. American Savings Bank). After that you can do everything free of charge with the debit card of the American bank and you do not run the risk of losing your local chalk card
• Buy a moped from www.craigslist.org or from a cheap dealer (the further away from the beach, the cheaper) at the beginning for about 600-800 dollars, then sell it again at the end of the semester via craigslist, or: if you are 2, 3 other people get together: Buying a car and selling it again at the end is also possible via craigslist. Those who make themselves dependent on public transport on Oahu make life difficult;) The bus is a disaster.
• Surfboard as well (prices on craigslist around 300-500 dollars) for a longboard. Anyone who lives in Hawaii for four months without a surfboard cannot be helped, you will never get better surfing conditions again! If you don’t feel like surfing at all, then at least take on diving;)
• Mobile phone SIM card (I bought the prepaid rate from Simple Mobile in a mobile shop, about 30 dollars a month)
• Travel to the other islands (Big Island, Maui and Kauai are the largest and most interesting islands), take them unique chance come true!
• Go snorkeling (Hanauma Bay)
• Go hiking (Diamond Head, Kokohead Crater, Stairways to Heaven, Ka’au Crater)
• Skydiving (Dillingham Airfield)
• As I said, do not expect to meet a huge number of Americans as a student at HPU. This is where all Europeans and Asians romp about. The group size looks like this: 1. Norway, 2. Denmark, 3. Germany (far too many, unfortunately!), 4. Swedes / Asians / Hawaiians. The Americans go to the University of Hawaii (not possible for us through mediation). Nevertheless, you can come into contact with Americans, for example via tailgating at the football games of the UH football team or on Halloween. Otherwise the military guys sit in the clubs in the evening (maybe interesting for some women)
• Clubs: Mondays: Lulu’s; Tuesdays: 1 dollar night at Moose’s (almost all students meet every Tuesday); Wednesdays: 1 dollar night in the Playbar; Thursdays: Addiction; Fridays: flat rate party at Maddog; every first Friday of the month: ‘First Friday’ in Chinatown; Friday, Saturday: M-Club
• drink alcohol on the streets is prohibited, Alk in supermarkets after 22:30 do not buy possible to go through a red traffic light costs $ 150, Wild pee attracts a court hearing to be

Cost

• Life on Hawaii has a lot of cost traps! For the household you have to shop in different places to escape the rip-off as best as possible
o Vegetables, rice: market in Chinatown
o Meat: Don Quixote
o Noodles, various household items etc .: Walmart
• At hostel time you will not be spared MC Donalds, it is also by far the cheapest
• Eating out is otherwise a little more expensive than in Germany, but is worthwhile at the supermarket prices now and then, good price – Performance ratio in comparison: Cheesecake Factory, Yardhouse
• Renting a surfboard is economically unwise, buy it and sell it in the end