Is Chaminade University of Honolulu Worth It?

Chaminade's financial return is mixed, and it leans heavily on what you study. The median graduate earns $52,343 ten years out against a net price near $28,000 a year, so four years of cost roughly matches a single year of mid-career pay. That works if you land in the right program and falls apart if you don't.

Nursing is the clear winner. At $62,343, it out-earns every other bachelor's program here by a wide margin, and it feeds directly into Honolulu's hospital and long-term-care demand. The higher $28,000 debt load that comes with it is defensible because the paycheck supports it. Teacher education and business administration land in the mid-$40,000s, which is livable but tight against Hawaii's cost of living. Criminal justice at $38,072 and biology at $29,685 are the danger zones. A biology bachelor here pays under $30,000 while still carrying roughly $21,000 in debt, so that path only makes sense if you're using it as a step toward graduate or health-professional school, not as a terminal degree.

The net price tiers are unusual. If your family earns $30,000 to $48,000, you pay about $19,135, the lowest of any bracket. But if you earn under $30,000, you pay $31,894 , more than families making over $110,000. That inversion means the lowest-income families face the steepest bill, so run your actual aid numbers before committing.

This school fits you if you're headed into nursing or you have a clear graduate-school plan for a lower-paying major like biology. Look elsewhere if you want a criminal justice or general biology degree as your endpoint. With a 58% graduation rate, roughly four in ten students don't finish in the tracked window, so borrowing without a finish plan is the biggest risk here.