By students in Journalism 150 class
More students are choosing to come to Honolulu Community College because of its convenient location in metro Honolulu.
Some students interviewed on campus Wednesday said they picked HonCC because it is either near where they work or live.
“It’s close to my Grandma’s house,” said Jade Rogers, 19, a first-year student at HonCC.
“It’s by my house. I like the campus and the people there,” said Marisa Wong, 20, another first-year student at HonCC.
School officials last week said that enrollment was up 6.7 percent over the previous fall, with a total of 4,129 students registered at the start of the semester.
That’s the largest percentage increase of any school in the UH system this year, officials said.
Students also said they chose the school for its special programs and its low tuition rates.
“I heard this college has a great fashion and technology department,” said Ricky Castillo, 18, and a first-year student.
Shaun Henckel, 22, said he came for the Music Entertainment Learning Experience program, the only one of its kind in Hawaii.
“I love that the classes are small and you get to work one-on-one with the teachers, which is different from UH-Manoa,” Lauren Brackenridge, 22, a transfer student from Manoa.