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Chaminade University of Honolulu tucks about 2,200 students onto a green hillside campus at the base of St. Louis Heights, in the Kaimuki area of Honolulu on Oahu. It's a small, Marianist Catholic school, so the feel is close-knit and personal rather than a big-stadium college scene. From campus you can see Diamond Head crater off to one side and the ocean to the other, and the surrounding streets are quiet and residential. The Kaimuki district along Waialae Avenue is the local hub, Kapahulu and Waikiki beach sit just downhill, and the lush Manoa Valley is a short trip over. Most students get around on TheBus, which stops right in front of campus on Waialae Avenue and runs all over the island, plus bikes and shared rides.
Chaminade offers first-year students community-style residence halls on campus but doesn't impose a strict mandatory live-on requirement the way many mainland schools do. Incoming students can choose between the halls and living off campus.
Continuing students often return to the halls or move into a nearby university-affiliated apartment complex, and others rent in the surrounding Honolulu neighborhoods. Off-campus, you're renting in a regular, in-demand island market made up mostly of condos, walk-up apartments, and rooms in houses rather than student complexes, and competition is stiff because all of Oahu's renters are in the same pool. Landlords run credit and income checks and often want first month, a deposit, and sometimes last month up front, so budget for steep move-in totals.
Read the lease for who covers water and electric, since AC and island utility rates add up, and watch for parking, which is scarce and sometimes extra. Confirm any building rules in condo rentals before you sign.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Chaminade University of Honolulu before signing a lease.
Honolulu's rental market is tight and competitive year round, so near Chaminade you can't afford to drift. Students who want a room or apartment in Kaimuki, Kapahulu, or Manoa for fall start searching by late spring or early summer and move fast when something good appears, since well-priced units get multiple applicants within days. The market doesn't have a single college turnover date because students rent alongside the whole island. Line up roommates early to split the high move-in costs and stay ready to apply.
Classes start in late August, and if you wait until midsummer you'll be fighting more people for fewer options and may end up farther from campus. Late spring and early summer is the busiest stretch for student searches. Kaimuki, Kapahulu, and Manoa near campus see the heaviest demand. Most students at Chaminade who want a good spot aim to lock something in by early summer.
Subleases and roommate spots open up in spring and over the summer as people move or graduate, which can be a good way in. If you're searching late, widen your search across more of Honolulu and lean on the university's housing resources. TheBus stops right in front of campus and runs all over the island, so a place farther out still keeps your commute workable. Be ready to apply the same day you tour, since listings move fast.
The district just downhill from campus along Waialae Avenue, walkable with small shops and a mix of older apartments and homes.
Between Kaimuki and Waikiki, dense and lively with walk-up apartments close to the beach.
A lush, rainy valley near the big state university, green and residential with student-friendly rentals.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Renting on Oahu is steep. A room in a shared house or condo near Kaimuki, Kapahulu, or Manoa usually runs $900-$1,500/month per person. Whole one-bedroom apartments in Kaimuki often run $2,000/month or more total, so almost everyone shares to make it work. Budget another $60-$150/month for utilities, since AC and island electric rates add up fast.
Other universities in Honolulu share a similar off-campus housing market.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa sits in a green valley just above Honolulu, with about 18,000 students who get tropical rain, trade winds, and a campus tucked under the Koolau ridgeline. Manoa valley is quiet and leafy, but Waikiki's beaches and Diamond Head are a short ride south, and downtown Honolulu is a quick…
View housing near UH Manoa