Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

[Mililani]

I read the requirements for admission to Kamehameha Schools and the only one that worries me
is the residency requirement, but I'm not sure I understand it.

[From their website] For the year 2007-2008:

Applicants and their legal guardians must be residents of the State of Hawai`i by September 30, 2006.

So basically, if I wanted to enroll my child in the 2008-2009 school year, I would need to move
back home by September of this year.

Then toward the bottom of the same page it states:

1) Kamehameha's K-12 program targets students whose parents or legal guardians are residents
of the State of Hawai`i, however, out-of-state students may apply.

2) Residency in the State of Hawai`i for the child and his/her parents or legal guardians is a requirement
for enrollment at Kamehameha although mainland applicants may also be considered.

OK, I know it doesn't say anywhere that an out-of-state student would be "accepted" but it seems
to me that if they put it in, they are implying that they could be. How do you read it?

Thank you!

[tutusue]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

I read it to mean that should all qualifying Hawaii residents be admitted and there are still some slots available, then mainland applicants will be considered. I could be very wrong, however!

Another possibility is the wording is for legal purposes.

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

Ah, that makes sense. It kinda reminds me of Princess Pauahi's will where people often get confused..

...and to devote a portion of each years income to the support and education of orphans, and others in indigent circumstances, giving the preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood..

It doesn't say non-hawaiians cannot enter into the school, it only says that hawaiians have preference. So, in actuality, non-hawaiians CAN be admitted into KS, but not until ALL the hawaiian applicants have been exhausted. Like that's ever gonna happen.

Thank you for your help!

[poinographer]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

One thing is certain: if you do not apply, your child will not be accepted!

[Ms_Aloha_Nui]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

DEFINITLEY - IF YOU DON'T APPLY YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO BE ACCEPTED!

Here's an article that was in this past Sunday's Star-Bulletin...so yes, if you DON'T APPLY YOU HAVE NO CHANCE (ZERO, NADA)....so APPLY!

http://starbulletin.com/2007/05/20/news/story02.html

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

Thank you for the link.

[From the link above]:

The decision to admit Rosell, after a list of qualified Hawaiian students was exhausted, caused an uproar with many parents and alumni saying Kamehameha was neglecting native Hawaiians.

I guess I was wrong, KS did run out of hawaiians.

[tutusue]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

[...]I guess I was wrong, KS did run out of hawaiians.

The impression I got after reading the cited article was that parents and alumni were unhappy because they felt KSBE should've dropped the admission requirements a notch in order to admit Hawaiians who didn't initially qualify...rather than admit an academically qualified non-Hawaiian. IOW, KS didn't run out of Hawaiians; rather, they ran out of Hawaiians who fulfilled the school's requirements.

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

Well, here's an update...

We flew to Hawaii earlier this month. My son interviewed and took the test. He said the test was pretty easy and the interview went smoothly. We have to wait until mid-April 2008 to see if he gets in but it wasn't too painful. Besides, it was nice to go back home again. And, it was my husband's first time to Hawaii, so it was very romantic, even though we were there during a flash flood warning for all islands. But, I've been through so many of those, it didn't phase me at all.

If he gets in, great! If not, we're still moving back.

[zztype]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

You know why that mainland exclusion qualification? They pay for the neighbor island boarding students to fly to Honolulu from the neighbor islands. And they send them home for all major holidays. I'm sure it's just not in the budget to afford the same privilege to mainland-based students.

They'll consider your kid, but if s/he gets accepted, the child will have to live here so that transportation and attendance isn't an issue.

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

You know why that mainland exclusion qualification? They pay for the neighbor island boarding students to fly to Honolulu from the neighbor islands. And they send them home for all major holidays. I'm sure it's just not in the budget to afford the same privilege to mainland-based students.

They'll consider your kid, but if s/he gets accepted, the child will have to live here so that transportation and attendance isn't an issue.

Yes, I remember reading somewhere that KS pays for outer island students and I think that's pretty nice of them. In our case, however, if my son is invited, we'll move back.. if not, we'll move back. LOL

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

One policy KSBE has is that for post High School scholarships, in order to qualify you need to be a resident of the state of Hawaii as well as showing proof of Hawaiian ancestry three generations down.

That said you can live and work out of state but as long as you claim Hawaii as your state of residence (hence pay state income tax) you are a resident of Hawaii.

Also if your child is accepted that child must have some adult ward available on Oahu in the event there is a problem. But if you're planning on moving here that shouldn't be a problem.

But as they say, "you may apply" Anyone can apply for the president of the USA but it takes more than an application to become one.

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

You know why that mainland exclusion qualification? They pay for the neighbor island boarding students to fly to Honolulu from the neighbor islands. And they send them home for all major holidays. I'm sure it's just not in the budget to afford the same privilege to mainland-based students.

They'll consider your kid, but if s/he gets accepted, the child will have to live here so that transportation and attendance isn't an issue.

Wouldn't it upset some people if KS was to subsidize airfare for out of state applicants? It would be equal to the amount subsidized for outer island applicants, of course. I'm not sure if they decided to do this, but I remember a "pending" proposal back in 2005.

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

One policy KSBE has is that for post High School scholarships, in order to qualify you need to be a resident of the state of Hawaii as well as showing proof of Hawaiian ancestry three generations down.

That said you can live and work out of state but as long as you claim Hawaii as your state of residence (hence pay state income tax) you are a resident of Hawaii.

I haven't looked into any scholarships from KSBE, but if sometime down the road I happen to see something that might work, I'll apply at that time.

Also if your child is accepted that child must have some adult ward available on Oahu in the event there is a problem. But if you're planning on moving here that shouldn't be a problem.

I am planning to move, but if for some unforeseen reason I cannot, I'll just have one of my sisters be a guardian until I can get there. (I'm not sure my son would like the idea, but if he doesn't mind, I'll use them).

Oh, and I don't think I mentioned before that he applied for the Kea'au campus. I would love to move to the Kona side (where we lived for many years, and where my son was born), but it would make more sense to live on the eastside.

But as they say, "you may apply" Anyone can apply for the president of the USA but it takes more than an application to become one.

Yes, doing all this doesn't mean he'll get in. But, one can hope.

If he decided later he does not want to go, then there won't be a rush to move back, but we're still going back.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

KSBE buses (Akita Enterprises) run from Kona to Hilo but your son will have to board it around 4-4:30am every morning and will get home just before 6pm every evening. If he's planning on taking any sports that can be a problem as the buses don't pick up or drop off outside their scheduled runs.

Meaning...if he plays soccer and practices after school, there will be no bus to take him home at the end of practice. Your designated guardian has to do that.

Speaking of designated guardian, the Keaau campus has no dorm facilities so your sister will have to provide room and boarding expenses for your son. Only Kapalama campus on Oahu has dorms for outside island students.

Regarding KSBE scholarships, any Hawaiian that can prove Hawaiian lineage three generations down is qualified to receive scholarship monies whether they are KSBE alumni or not. My wife never attended KSBE but received scholarship monies thru this institution for both her bachelors and masters degree at Chaminade.

The key to getting scholarships that way is to apply early and stay on top of it. Scholarship funds are limited and those who register late won't get the nod. Read the vision statement from KSBE to understand the foundation on how and why you should receive this scholarship for a better opportunity of acceptance of your application. This vision statement should also serve as a primer to those who are granted an interview prior to admission as a student at any of the three major campuses or satellite campuses that serve the pre-schools.

That leads to what qualifies a student for admission to KSBE other than Hawaiian bloodline? Well academic scores are a good indication that the child wants to take advantage of KSBE's educational opportunities.

Another is the child's vision of what he/she wants to get out of being admitted into KSBE.

Location location location. If on Oahu there are limited seats open for those in certain areas around the island. There are more seats in the rural areas of Oahu that serve the greater Hawaiian population than in areas such as Kahala or Kaimuki.

If on the neighbor islands, admission is much less competitive than on Oahu and the chances of acceptance is far greater so applying to Keaau is a good choice.

The problem with Kapalama campus on Oahu is that the entrance exam and registration fee is (I believe) $50 per applicant. Many parents who intend on sending their children to any of the elite private schools on Oahu will use Kapalama's entrance exam as a cheap practice session for their children. This way the child will understand what it takes to get into any of the other private schools and will be somewhat more prepared for let's say Iolani's entrance exam.

The result however is that you have an outstanding applicant that will get the nod for entrance to KSBE but has no intention of wanting to accept it because their goal is another school. This kicks out those who were next in line and would have made it in but are now in a waiting list.

So when a parent tells me they feel rejected and hurt because their child didn't make it in, I tell them not to worry because as the time gets closer to the first day of school many who got in drop out because they got the nod for another school and suddenly there are openings for those on the wait list.

This happens on all campuses. Good luck

[Mililani]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Requirements - I'm confused..

Wow! Thank you! That's a lot of good information.

I think 4am is too early, but it is nice to know that they do offer bus rides. This was one question I meant to ask, but forgot. I forgot to ask about the orphan preference also, but I figure it works just like the hawaiian bloodline preference. (shrug)

We will end up in Hilo or Keaau, because after discussing with my son that he might live with my sister, he said, "umm, love them, but I don't want to." LOL

It's also good to see that even if someone does not get invited initially, they may still get a chance to get in, up until the first day of school. It's interesting though, that people would use KSBE as a practice run. Weird.

Thank you again for the information, craigwatanabe!