A beautiful campus with dedicated teachers and students. Everyone is very passionate about their field, very friendly, and respectful of surroundings.We like to have fun but are serious about our life goals.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
For engineering, veteranarian studies, and natural sciences and resources studies this is an amazing school. Other majors are important but not as outstanding as these departments (you can see it in the university funding). The campus is very bike friendly, just don't break the rules and you won't get a ticket. And the town itself is amazing, there is a lot to do and see even if you're under 21. Just make sure you keep track of the work you need to do. In college you don't have a lot of free time no matter what your major is, and the free time that you do have could very well be catered towards your social life. If you like to have time to yourself, do it. If you like to see friends, plan with them. Don't ever just sit around bored out of your mind because you think you have nothing to do. Believe me, you will ALWAYS have something to do. Apply for scholarships, get a job, go for a run, see the town. Anything. Just don't waste any time.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
It all depends on the class you're taking and the teacher you have. For example, engineering classes have a lot of the research professors as professors, so the curriculum is generally very rigorous even if the topic isn't necessarily hard to learn. Also, most classes have a routine you need to follow (like homework is due every Monday at 3, and you will have about 8 to 12 problems from the book all on the topics you learned in the past week) so it's easy to keep track of what you need to do. You will probably have an average of 4 classes a semester, and most classes are 50 minutes long for 3 days a week. That doesn't give you a lot of time to actually learn the material in class, so you need to study it on your own. If a class doesn't give a lot of homework, you need to do practice problems or something in order to ensure you're actually learning from the class. I'd say the academic rigor is high for any department as long as you're willing to put in the amount of work that is expected of a college student. I know many people who don't even study outside of class and who put off work, and they don't excel in college.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
Most of the dorms are kind of run down, but the newer ones like academic village are very nice to live in. If you get along with the people in your hall, you're going to have a fun time. My closest friends are my hall mates even after we moved out of the dorms we still take the time to hang out with each other. For some people, the dorms are just a place to slee, so their social lives are somewhere else. For others, the dorms are their social life. With me, I didn't know many people outside of my hall, and we were all very close. But I know other people who didn't interact with their hall.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
The food is tasty and, if you keep track of what you're eating, can be healthy for you, but the variety gets old pretty fast. I hardly ate in the actual dining hall but rather went to the express very often, so I didn't really eat a lot of actual meals. The express is very good though since you can get a lot of food for just one meal swipe. However, if you want an unlimited amount of food, you need to eat in the actual dining hall because you swipe in and you can stay for as long as you want and eat whatever you want that's available.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
You could go see a movie the theaters are close. Make friends with someone with a car or have your own. There's fort fun, bowling, roller blading, and movies. Old Town is fun to walk around when its warm and the stores are open since its pretty fun to see the different things there are. And there are always people throwing parties and fundraisers and events going on, so there really is a lot to do. CSU also does a fair share of putting on events that aren't extravagant but are great to go to for a little bit of fun.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
You definitely should apply for scholarships (the more money the better) but as an out-of-state student who's flight costs $1000 round trip every year, the price is tight but not undoable. And if you put a lot of effort into your classes, the price is worth what you learn, as well.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
One thing to look forward to every year is homecoming, because they do fireworks and a bonfire out on the intramural fields, and it really is a great time to spend with friends. Another thing that is a must-see is the Rocky Mountain showdown between CU. It's a lot of fun and everyone has a great time, even if it is based off of a huge rivalry. There is also the concert that CSU puts on every year in the fall semester that usually has a great artist (this past year was Macklemore) and is fun to go to with friends. Sports games are always fun to go to if you're into that. The plaza by the Lory Student Center always has something going on (someone handing out flyers, preaching, etc) and the student center, when not under construction, is a great place to be as well. Anyone considering coming to CSU, the student center will be done soon and you will be here for the new one.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Hard-working, committed to learning, passionate students. Also great for people who want to swing by easily, but most people here are very dedicated to what they're doing.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
This is my getaway when I want to be productive but want to stop doing schoolwork. I am an officer in the CSU Hawaii club (Hui O Hawaii) and I love helping out with club events because it gives me work but something different from my every day school work. They do make you very busy around exam times, but other than that it gives me something to look forward to other than just going to school and then going home.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
The entire town is actually very safe, even at night you can walk alone and not be entirely uneased. On campus, there are these blue lights that are police call boxes and wherever you are on campus (outside of a building of course) you will always see at least one of these lights. If you feel threatened, you just need to get yourself over to one of these and call the police. There are also many different programs that are geared towards student safety like Safewalk, which is where a police officer will come and walk with you to wherever you're going if you feel unsafe, and Ramride, which is a non-judgemental free ride home from wherever you are.
A beautiful campus with dedicated teachers and students. Everyone is very passionate about their field, very friendly, and respectful of surroundings.We like to have fun but are serious about our life goals.
For engineering, veteranarian studies, and natural sciences and resources studies this is an amazing school. Other majors are important but not as outstanding as these departments (you can see it in the university funding). The campus is very bike friendly, just don't break the rules and you won't get a ticket. And the town itself is amazing, there is a lot to do and see even if you're under 21. Just make sure you keep track of the work you need to do. In college you don't have a lot of free time no matter what your major is, and the free time that you do have could very well be catered towards your social life. If you like to have time to yourself, do it. If you like to see friends, plan with them. Don't ever just sit around bored out of your mind because you think you have nothing to do. Believe me, you will ALWAYS have something to do. Apply for scholarships, get a job, go for a run, see the town. Anything. Just don't waste any time.
It all depends on the class you're taking and the teacher you have. For example, engineering classes have a lot of the research professors as professors, so the curriculum is generally very rigorous even if the topic isn't necessarily hard to learn. Also, most classes have a routine you need to follow (like homework is due every Monday at 3, and you will have about 8 to 12 problems from the book all on the topics you learned in the past week) so it's easy to keep track of what you need to do. You will probably have an average of 4 classes a semester, and most classes are 50 minutes long for 3 days a week. That doesn't give you a lot of time to actually learn the material in class, so you need to study it on your own. If a class doesn't give a lot of homework, you need to do practice problems or something in order to ensure you're actually learning from the class. I'd say the academic rigor is high for any department as long as you're willing to put in the amount of work that is expected of a college student. I know many people who don't even study outside of class and who put off work, and they don't excel in college.
Most of the dorms are kind of run down, but the newer ones like academic village are very nice to live in. If you get along with the people in your hall, you're going to have a fun time. My closest friends are my hall mates even after we moved out of the dorms we still take the time to hang out with each other. For some people, the dorms are just a place to slee, so their social lives are somewhere else. For others, the dorms are their social life. With me, I didn't know many people outside of my hall, and we were all very close. But I know other people who didn't interact with their hall.
The food is tasty and, if you keep track of what you're eating, can be healthy for you, but the variety gets old pretty fast. I hardly ate in the actual dining hall but rather went to the express very often, so I didn't really eat a lot of actual meals. The express is very good though since you can get a lot of food for just one meal swipe. However, if you want an unlimited amount of food, you need to eat in the actual dining hall because you swipe in and you can stay for as long as you want and eat whatever you want that's available.
You could go see a movie the theaters are close. Make friends with someone with a car or have your own. There's fort fun, bowling, roller blading, and movies. Old Town is fun to walk around when its warm and the stores are open since its pretty fun to see the different things there are. And there are always people throwing parties and fundraisers and events going on, so there really is a lot to do. CSU also does a fair share of putting on events that aren't extravagant but are great to go to for a little bit of fun.
You definitely should apply for scholarships (the more money the better) but as an out-of-state student who's flight costs $1000 round trip every year, the price is tight but not undoable. And if you put a lot of effort into your classes, the price is worth what you learn, as well.
One thing to look forward to every year is homecoming, because they do fireworks and a bonfire out on the intramural fields, and it really is a great time to spend with friends. Another thing that is a must-see is the Rocky Mountain showdown between CU. It's a lot of fun and everyone has a great time, even if it is based off of a huge rivalry. There is also the concert that CSU puts on every year in the fall semester that usually has a great artist (this past year was Macklemore) and is fun to go to with friends. Sports games are always fun to go to if you're into that. The plaza by the Lory Student Center always has something going on (someone handing out flyers, preaching, etc) and the student center, when not under construction, is a great place to be as well. Anyone considering coming to CSU, the student center will be done soon and you will be here for the new one.
Hard-working, committed to learning, passionate students. Also great for people who want to swing by easily, but most people here are very dedicated to what they're doing.
This is my getaway when I want to be productive but want to stop doing schoolwork. I am an officer in the CSU Hawaii club (Hui O Hawaii) and I love helping out with club events because it gives me work but something different from my every day school work. They do make you very busy around exam times, but other than that it gives me something to look forward to other than just going to school and then going home.
The entire town is actually very safe, even at night you can walk alone and not be entirely uneased. On campus, there are these blue lights that are police call boxes and wherever you are on campus (outside of a building of course) you will always see at least one of these lights. If you feel threatened, you just need to get yourself over to one of these and call the police. There are also many different programs that are geared towards student safety like Safewalk, which is where a police officer will come and walk with you to wherever you're going if you feel unsafe, and Ramride, which is a non-judgemental free ride home from wherever you are.