Is Hawaii Pacific University Worth It?

Hawaii Pacific University gives you a mixed financial return that leans risky. You pay over $30,000 a year net, graduate with $22,000 in median debt, and land at median earnings that barely clear what you'd need to service that debt comfortably. The bigger problem is the 41% graduation rate and 57% retention rate: nearly half of you won't finish, and a chunk of you will leave after year one still owing money without a degree to show for it.

Your major decides everything here. Nursing is the one program that clearly pays off, clearing $64,990 against roughly average debt, and it maps directly onto Honolulu's steady hospital demand. Computer science and teacher education land in the mid-$40,000s, which is workable but nothing special for the cost. Business administration sits near $40,000 with the highest debt on the list at over $24,000, so you're paying more to earn less. Psychology is the trap: $30,988 in earnings against $21,500 in debt is a losing trade, and you'd need a graduate degree to move the needle.

The net price tiers punish middle and upper incomes hardest. If your family earns under $30,000, you pay about $26,000. if you're over $110,000, you pay nearly $35,000. Aid barely moves the number for lower-income families, so no income bracket here gets a real bargain.

This school fits you if you're set on nursing and committed to finishing. Given the low completion odds, the price, and the weak payoff outside nursing, look elsewhere if you're heading into psychology, business, or any field where you're unsure you'll graduate. The dropout risk plus the debt makes those paths a bad bet at this price.