Lucky We Live In Hawaii, Where College Can Be Affordable
A ProPublica database uses federal student aid data to compare college affordability across the country for low-income students. Hawaii’s flagship public university stacks up well.
When it comes to helping low-income students afford tuition, the holds its own in comparison to four-year public schools nationally.
UH Manoa’s affordability is thanks to a large amount of federal aid given to in-state, low-income families, according to a that looks at which U.S. colleges help poor students the most.
In fact, the university is ranked in the top quarter nationwide for discount off total cost.
Low-income, in-state students at UH Manoa in 2013 – a 60 percent discount from the total annual cost of $18,491, which includes tuition, books and living expenses.
ProPublica’s rankings use the most recent figures available in 2013 from the U.S. Department of Education, which classifies a low-income family as one that earns up to $48,000 per year.
Schools are ranked in four categories: percentage of students who received a type of federal aid known as Pell grants, average cost for low-income students, average discount for low-income students and median federal debt of Pell grant recipients.
(For a more in-depth breakdown of these figures, .)
Stanford University had the for low-income students in the nation at $3,516, while the Catholic University of America had .
Of Hawaii four-year universities, had the – a 58 percent discount from the usual $9,874.
However, UH Manoa still had the highest discount rate for low-income students when stacked up against Hawaii private schools such as Chaminade, Brigham Young University-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific University.
Other UH schools such as Leeward Community College, Honolulu Community College and Kapiolani Community College also had larger discounts for low-income students when compared to other public two-year colleges across the country.
School | Total annual cost | Low-income student cost | Percent Discount |
---|---|---|---|
Argosy University—Hawaii | $24,733 | $15,293 | 38% |
µþ³Û±«â€”H²¹·É²¹¾±¾± | $14,544 | $8,239 | 43% |
Chaminade | $30,801 | $17,200 | 44% |
Hawaii Community College | $13,013 | $8,235 | 43% |
Hawaii Medical College | $17,835 | $14,320 | 20% |
Heald College—Honolulu | $23,216 | $18,363 | 21% |
HPU | $29,762 | $17,551 | 41% |
Kapiolani Community College | $9,242 | $3,484 | 62% |
Kauai Community College | $10,801 | $5,044 | 53% |
Leeward Community College | $5,931 | $860 | 85% |
New Hope Christian College—Honolulu | $18,314 | $11,467 | 37% |
Remington College—Honolulu | $25,592 | $20,508 | 20% |
UH Hilo | $15,284 | $7,544 | 51% |
UH Maui College | $11,240 | $6,127 | 45% |
UH—West Oahu | $9,874 | $4,157 | 58% |
University of Phoenix—Hawaii | $24,021 | $19,303 | 20% |
Windward Community College | $10,933 | $5,878 | 46% |
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