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Considering that the most famous alumnus of Punahou stood on an O'ahu beach and said "Here in Asia" and can't pronounce the word "corpsman," I'm not sure you would get your money's worth there.
And he's also making Russian politicians laugh their okole's off at his foreign policies! LOOOL!!!
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SoloPilot
Considering that the most famous alumnus of Punahou stood on an O'ahu beach and said "Here in Asia" and can't pronounce the word "corpsman," I'm not sure you would get your money's worth there.
If some of the schools give you sticker shock, understand that many public schools will exchange volunteer time to discount the education. Furthermore some schools can be based of income.
LOL! Punahou does have a good reputation. However, I asked my friend, who's a Punahou alumnus, about the academic quality of his classmates. He told me this. Punahou has some bright/smart students. But on the other end of the spectrum, there are really really dumb students who are only attending Punahou because their father and/or mother makes more than $100K annual salary.
Punahou also has a different factor where they also tend to lean towards recruiting students for "sports", such as their football, track and field and baseball program.
Quite frankly, I dislike iolani, because one of my former middle school classmate who was a jerk, attended that institute. I also know other a-holes who graduated from iolani.
yes, they are heavily academic oriented, moreso than Punahou. Iolani counselors try to PUSH their students to become doctors, teachers, university/college professors, attorneys, businessmen, politicians, military officers, etc. If you don't pursue any of those fields, you are viewed as an abnormal student.
At Punahou, you have somewhat more freedom to pursue what you want to do after graduating from high school.
Haha.
I have to agree.
Iolani kids always tended to be stuck up a holes when I was in high school. They're obsessed with academics and expect their grads to go into prestigious careers.
Punahou is for the rich families on Oahu. Some of my family members graduated from there and were accepted because they came from a wealthy well known family in Hawaii. It had nothing to do with their intelligence.
I went to the most well known all boys school on Oahu and it was a good experience. The academics were on par with other private schools and I appreciated the character development.
LOL! Punahou does have a good reputation. However, I asked my friend, who's a Punahou alumnus, about the academic quality of his classmates. He told me this. Punahou has some bright/smart students. But on the other end of the spectrum, there are really really dumb students who are only attending Punahou because their father and/or mother makes more than $100K annual salary.
Punahou also has a different factor where they also tend to lean towards recruiting students for "sports", such as their football, track and field and baseball program.
Quite frankly, I dislike iolani, because one of my former middle school classmate who was a jerk, attended that institute. I also know other a-holes who graduated from iolani.
yes, they are heavily academic oriented, moreso than Punahou. Iolani counselors try to PUSH their students to become doctors, teachers, university/college professors, attorneys, businessmen, politicians, military officers, etc. If you don't pursue any of those fields, you are viewed as an abnormal student.
At Punahou, you have somewhat more freedom to pursue what you want to do after graduating from high school.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pyramidsurf
Haha.
I have to agree.
Iolani kids always tended to be stuck up a holes when I was in high school. They're obsessed with academics and expect their grads to go into prestigious careers.
Punahou is for the rich families on Oahu. Some of my family members graduated from there and were accepted because they came from a wealthy well known family in Hawaii. It had nothing to do with their intelligence.
I went to the most well known all boys school on Oahu and it was a good experience. The academics were on par with other private schools and I appreciated the character development.
I wished I found this thread years ago I had no idea how bias they are. I know quite a few new families over the years who moved here from mainland or other countries who tried out the Punahou/Iolani interviews and none of them got in.
The kids who got in were all connected somehow ie. their parents or grandparents went to school there before or they are a family with long history in Oahu. If you have no connections, your child can score an A+ base on their interview grade with great teachers recommendations and still get waitlisted at both schools.
Whereas I spoke to parents with connections, the kids just got in even while acting all goofy during their interviews.
Both my kids were accepted by both Iolani and Punahou. Both schools let my kids take their class for one day before they made up their minds. They both chose Iolani and have graduated five years and three years since then respectively.
So let's compare Iolani and Punahou:
(1) The class size is much bigger in Punahou than in Iolani;
(2) There are more Asian students in Iolani while there are more White students in Punahou;
(3) Punahou's campus is much bigger. Iolani's campus is more compact. Punahou has a Theater while Iolani does not.
(4) Iolani teachers are more attentive on their students. I have received letter from the teacher because my kid got a C grade in her test.
(5) There are more finalists and semi-finalists from Iolani on National Merit. That means automatically they will get their tuition halved from colleges like Southern Cal in the next 4 years.
And don't be scared away by the $20,000+ annual tuition. Both schools offer generous scholarship if you are eligible. Some students even got free laptop, textbooks and meals. But the admission is highly competitive. When my kids applied 8 and 10 years ago, the acceptance rate was one out of five. Now I heard the competition is even more keen.
My kids have also attended other private schools on the Island before they were admitted into Iolani. IMO there is a big gap between those schools and Iolani/Punahou in terms of academics. But at least classrooms in those private schools are air-conditioned. Kids don't need to be grilled in the 100 degree inferno in those classrooms in public schools.
So is the tuition worth it? Of course Yes, unless your kids do really bad in school, usually their graduates will be accepted into top universities including Ivy League schools. And most likely they will be offered hefty scholarship because they graduated from Iolani/Punahou. My kid graduated from an Ivy League school with no student loan.
So do you need any connection to get your kid into Iolani or Punahou? Only if they try to get in at Kindergarten or 4th grade. For opening in Grade 6 and 7, the spots are available to everybody.
(4) Iolani teachers are more attentive on their students. I have received letter from the teacher because my kid got a C grade in her test.
for $21,700 annually - that is the least they can do
alternatively, for $21,700 annually I'd be wondering why my kid was getting a C in the first place
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I had no idea how bias they are. I know quite a few new families over the years who moved here from mainland or other countries who tried out the Punahou/Iolani interviews and none of them got in.
