Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in Hawaii
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.
From the state
- Hawaiʻi Promise Scholarship: Hawaii residents with financial need at the University of Hawaiʻi's community colleges
From the colleges
Merit scholarships. No college here publishes a scholarship by grades that a student is sure to get. The terms of each are in the table below.
Across state lines
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at UH Manoa, UH Hilo and UH West Oahu. A Hawaii student can do the same in those states. The Western Undergraduate Exchange ↓
What would each college cost your family?
See all 6 Hawaii colleges priced for your income, and the aid your student could get.
See costs at your income →Already have a list? Put your schools side by side →
Get reminders for the dates that matter
We'll email you on the dates that matter: when the FAFSA opens, when award letters arrive, and before you choose a college and pay the first bill. If college is two or more years away, we'll also email you when the tax year that counts begins and when it has a month left.
From the state
Hawaii's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Hawaiʻi Promise Scholarship
For Hawaii residents with financial need at a University of Hawaiʻi community college, funded by the state. It covers tuition, fees and books after your other aid. File the FAFSA by March 1 for first consideration.
Source: University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges, Hawaiʻi Promise Program
“The Hawaiʻi Promise Program makes higher education accessible for Hawaiʻi residents by covering direct educational costs at any University of Hawaiʻi Community College. Funded by the state, this program ensures financial need is never a barrier to earning a quality college education.”
“If you qualify, the program bridges the financial gap to cover your direct educational costs, including: Tuition and fees Books”
“Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the financial aid priority deadline of March 1 for first consideration.”
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brigham Young University-Hawaii private |
| — | $17,181 |
| Chaminade University of Honolulu private |
| — | $56,460 |
| Hawaii Pacific University private |
| — | $63,887 |
| University of Hawaii at Hilo public |
| — | $22,658 |
| University of Hawaii at Manoa public |
| — | $30,585 |
| University of Hawaii-West Oahu public |
| — | $29,050 |
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
1 more Hawaii college has no page here. The federal data has no cost or no price by income for it. Show it
- Pacific Rim Christian University
Across state lines
The Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Coming to Hawaii from another western state
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at the public colleges that take part. Each college sets its own rules: a minimum GPA, majors it leaves out, early deadlines, or a limit on how many students get the rate.
In Hawaii, UH Manoa, UH Hilo and UH West Oahu take part, and the table shows what each gives. The University of Hawaiʻi's Maui College is on the list too. Its main degree is not the bachelor's, and this page covers colleges whose main degree is.
Going from Hawaii to another western state
A Hawaii student can use it the other way, at public colleges in the other western states. The group that runs the exchange has a savings finder that lists each college and what the exchange saves there.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
“pay no more than 150% of the institution’s resident tuition rate”
“Residents of the following states and territories are eligible to apply for WUE: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.”
“Each school administers WUE differently: Institutions may require a minimum GPA, exclude selected majors, have early application deadlines, and/or limit the number of students awarded the WUE rate.”
Paying the rest
Our $99 plan works out which money pays each bill, semester by semester: your savings, your 529 and your loans, in the order that costs least.
Build your plan →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get a reminder when it does.
How we worked these out
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.