Is University of Hawaii's nursing major competitive for high school applicants?

Yes, nursing at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is competitive for high school applicants, and it is not a simple direct-admit major in the way some other programs are.

For first-year students, the usual path is to enroll at Mānoa as a pre-nursing or intended nursing student, complete the required science and general education courses, and then apply to the nursing major. Admission to the BSN is based heavily on college performance in prerequisites, especially science grades, rather than just high school stats. Because there are limited clinical spots, the nursing cohort is smaller than the number of students who start out interested in nursing.

So if your main question is whether it is competitive from high school, the practical answer is yes, but mostly because admission to the actual nursing program happens later and is selective. As a high school junior, the most useful thing to know is that strong preparation in biology, chemistry, math, and English will matter, and once in college, GPA in prerequisites becomes very important.

If you are comparing majors at UH Mānoa, nursing is definitely one of the more capacity-limited options. It is worth checking the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene website each year for the exact prerequisite list and application cycle, since those details can change.