Soka University is such a great university located in Aliso Viejo, CA. In addition to the great environment for study, the student body is very diverse, and we can learn various cultures and different ways of thinkings from interactions with my fellow friends! Students come from more than 30 different countries and territories. Also, last May, new Performing Arts Center opened and every week we have concert and performance by professional musicians! Of course it is open to community member, please visit our campus for the concert, and if you really like it, please come visit us sometime later!

I go to school where this isn't even a question. Ridiculous right? Who would want to live on campus? But at Soka University 99% of the 400 student body lives together in what can only be described as "dayuuumm look at that view" hotel-like spacious rooms. Although you begin with a double, over the next three years you are GUARANTEED your own space either in a suite or a single room. It's pretty dope. All you share is a bathroom and that too, with a friend. So no walking down the hallway in your towel and flip flops, hoping that no one infects you with their athlete’s foot. But besides that Soka is really great. A lot of people get scared or turned off by the small student body but it’s actually really nice. I feel like the friends I've created here are family. Not just in the: we eat dinner, go to classes, and hang out all the time way. But because you see each other struggle, see each other inspired (and inspire each other), are part of the joyful moments when your friend (or you) have overcome something tremendously painful in life-- these intimate spaces where no one ever really gets to inhabit-- you inhabit with each other at Soka. In this sort of environment even finals are a bitter sweet fun. Huddling up in the living room with blankets, computers, stacks of books, too little sleep and too much chocolate. It's a delirious sort of fun-- even if you're a procrastinator and can't see the end of the tunnel at 4 in the morning when your paper is due at 8am. Did I mention the sunrises are amazing here? The fog recedes and ah it makes the all night worthwhile. But what's most amazing is being able to bounce ideas off each other and engage in spontaneous discussions about whether Genji (from Tales of Genji) has an Oedipus complex to the dominant power structures that reinforce ideologies around the American Dream. It's an amazing campus if you want to inhabit different spaces of learning. We may be small but size doesn’t shape the experience.

I am currently a sophomore at Soka University of America and I think that this is a place that has one of the best learning environments I have experienced. I also think that the cultural diversity on campus is fascinating because I have the opportunity of learning about various cultures around the world under one roof. Furthermore, the study abroad program that SUA offers is definitely one of a kind as it allows students to gain a practical experience, speaking the language they learnt in the classroom. I would urge all students, who are looking for colleges, to take one look at the school website or if possible, come for a guided tour, so that they can decide for themselves, what is the best for them.

I've worked at SUA for over ten years and it's been so rewarding to watch a new four year liberal arts college grow from the very beginning until it was recognized in fall 2010 by Newsweek in its "Top 25 colleges in the US" in four categories - best small college, best suburban college, best diversity and "best education, best tan" (location). SUA is very small, but it has a 9:1 student/faculty ratio so the whole campus works together to try to make it a great learning experience for students. Half of our students are from the SUA and half come from over 40 other countries, so it's a very diverse, interesting student body. The people I work with are talented and caring - it's a great place to work!