Affordable Colleges in Hawaiʻi: Tuition and Financial Aid

Colleges to explore

Hawaiʻi’s public system prices each campus on its own schedule, and “Tuition and fees vary from campus to campus, and actual costs will depend on program, residency, living arrangements and lifestyle” (University of Hawaiʻi System). The shortlist below covers one community college, three four-year public campuses, and two private universities. Prices are per credit or per semester as each school prints them.

Conditions that change what you pay

• Kapiʻolani: its fees are billed in different units, including a $2-per-credit activity fee, a $0.50-per-credit student congress fee, a $10 publication fee and a $40 U-Pass that “will be assessed to all students taking at least one in-person class” (Kapiʻolani CC). Check the Hawaiʻi Promise conditions further down before you budget that tuition.
• University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: its table adds a general fee of $452 under 12 credits and $457 at 12 or more credits, and nursing and dental hygiene sit on their own row with a larger fee (Mānoa).
• University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo: summer is priced separately, and “All students are subject to campus-based student fees not shown here” (Hilo).
• University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu: the figures above are “the estimated cost of attending” the campus as a full-time (12 credits) student, so treat them as a planning budget rather than a price per credit (West Oʻahu).
• Chaminade: nursing is charged on its own line, and the online Flex rate adds a $93 per class technology fee (Chaminade). Military discount rates require documentation of service or affiliation.
• Brigham Young University–Hawaiʻi: the two rates are a church membership category, and the university explains that “Because others will not have made this contribution, they are charged a higher tuition” (BYU–Hawaiʻi).

Two reduced rates that are not interchangeable

At Mānoa, the Pacific Island jurisdiction rate is “charged 150 percent of the resident tuition rate,” which is the $735 per credit published against the $490 resident rate under 12 credits. Separately, “Effective July 1, 2024, students enrolled Spring 2024 onward from the Freely Associated States (Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Republic of Palau) will be charged tuition at the in-state resident rate” (Mānoa). WUE is a third category: reduced WUE tuition is for freshmen and transfers, and “The University reserves the right to limit WUE awards each academic year based on enrollment projections” (Mānoa). Confirm which category applies to you with admissions rather than assuming one.

How the campuses charge, and what is proposed next

The system’s tuition policy sets the structure. At UH Mānoa, UH Hilo and UH West Oʻahu, “Full-time regular tuition applies to students enrolling for 12 or more credits,” and “Full-time regular tuition is the per credit tuition rate multiplied by 12 for the respective campus”; at the community colleges, “tuition is charged on a per credit basis for all enrolled credits” (Executive Policy 6.201). That is why a 12-credit semester at Mānoa is a single flat charge while a community-college bill scales with the credits you take. The same policy adds that a 300-level course taught at a community college “will charge the UH West Oʻahu/UH Hilo tuition rate” (Executive Policy 6.201).

The university is also considering a new four-year schedule beginning in fall 2027. Under the proposal reported by the system’s own news office, “undergraduate tuition would remain unchanged at all 10 UH campuses for the first two years, academic years 2027–28 and 2028–29,” with increases of 2% to 5% by campus starting in 2029–30 (UH News). It is a proposal, not an adopted rate: “If approved, the new tuition schedule would be filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor by December 1 and take effect in fall 2027” (UH News). Budget from the 2026–2027 rates on this page until then.

One campus example: Kapiʻolani Community College

Kapiʻolani Community College’s 2026–2027 tuition page publishes three residency categories:

The same page lists fees in different units: a $2-per-credit student activity fee (maximum $20), a $0.50-per-credit student congress fee (maximum $5), a $10 flat publication fee, and a $40 U-Pass transportation fee (Kapiʻolani CC). The U-Pass fee “will be assessed to all students taking at least one in-person class” (Kapiʻolani CC). Those fees are not spread across every credit here.

Your residency classification decides which column applies. The Pacific Island rate is a separate category, so confirm it with admissions rather than assuming you qualify. Other UH campuses publish their own schedules; Kapiʻolani’s rates are an example, not a statewide price.

Check Hawaiʻi Promise before paying community-college tuition

The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges’ Hawaiʻi Promise Program helps cover direct educational costs, including tuition, fees, and books, after other resources. Its listed conditions include being a Hawaiʻi resident who qualifies for in-state tuition, enrolling in a degree-seeking UH Community College program that accepts financial aid, taking at least six credits per semester, and maintaining at least a 2.0 GPA (UHCC).

The program states that amounts “are contingent upon funding” and depend on enrollment level, financial need, and other resources (UHCC). It is not a promise that your bill will be zero. The first step listed is to file the FAFSA “by the financial aid priority deadline of March 1 for first consideration” (UHCC). Ask your campus financial aid office what else it requires for your term.

Before you apply

• Confirm your residency classification with admissions, including whether the Pacific Island rate, WUE, or the Freely Associated States rule applies to you.
• Compare the community-college route with the four-year campuses on the same basis. A per-credit rate applies at Kapiʻolani and the community colleges; at Mānoa, Hilo and West Oʻahu a flat semester rate starts at 12 credits (EP 6.201).
• Add fees in their own units: per-credit activity and congress fees at Kapiʻolani, a per-semester general fee at Mānoa, and campus-based fees at Hilo that its schedule does not list.
• File the FAFSA by March 1 for first consideration for Hawaiʻi Promise, and ask your campus financial aid office what else your term requires.
• At the private universities, ask for the current cost of attendance as well as tuition: Chaminade’s per-class online technology fee and BYU–Hawaiʻi’s semester credit thresholds both change what you actually pay.