I was looking at the US News description for Temple University in Philadelphia, Nat U No 121, website www.temple.edu public founded 1888 selective. Like you mom2, I do recall people writing about Temple and impressions (maybe last year or so) - but I don’t recall impression or details.
It may be it is more of a commuter college (or maybe people in apts off campus) as only 18% live on campus. 79% in-state students.
Perhaps knowledgeable CCers can post some comments/impressions of Temple.
Temple University’s campus map is at http://www.temple.edu/sites/temple/files/uploads/documents/TUMain_map.pdf .
The crime reputation is probably based on being in Philadelphia.
Personally I would not say someone would like or dislike a school without knowing a lot more about them and what they were seeking. Perhaps to a Californian, or someone in a major market on the East Coast, most of the rest of the country might be considered the middle of nowhere. But to someone from a rural area themselves that could be exactly what they want.
Perhaps one of your family members or friends can drive you to visit Temple. In that way you can experience the campus, the city, and personally talk to people and see if it feels like home for you. A place you can see yourself living for 4 years.
Looking back through this thread, post #20 did give the 411 on Tempe and impression on the school setting in Philadelphia.
Since OP is from Michigan, I would also visit and consider other in-state Michigan schools in addition to U of MI.
For @palm715 - depending on your geographic location and what schools are a fit for your student (based on major, budget, type of campus/type of city location, and other factors).
I can certainly understand how amount of merit, total costs, and budget are strong factors - my college students are away at college. However we do have a local university which has their college degrees - with merit and savings, they were able to afford room and board rather than commuting. Many students do not have a university within daily driving/commuting distance - so then the weigh in is on the merit award. Most college students attend community college, but the four year merit and academic opportunities for the high stat kids certainly offers some additional options in the mix. There are private schools that perhaps can be considered - but that was not in our mix of consideration; it potentially could be for some reading this thread.
OP - You can visit the Temple threads in the “Colleges and Universities” section of CC. I have a son at Temple, and can answer a few questions, but he was a transfer, and has never lived in a dorm. The neighborhood is sketchy, but students learn some basic safety precautions, and the campus itself is secure. The area, like many others in Philly, is gradually gentrifying, but it is block by block (if not building by building).
Thanks @ucbalumnus It appears that Temple doesn’t have a traditional campus, but is a cluster of buildings on a grid of urban streets.
For some kids, that is fine, for those seeking a campus with that “traditional feel,” that may not be the case.
@clarinetdad16 For a student who would be flying in from a distant state, attending Troy could pose some issues since it probably doesn’t have an established shuttle system to the distant airport, as a univ that has a greater number of students coming from afar.
Also, since the OP is premed, it really is better for the student to attend a school that will have a healthy number of premeds, has active premed associations, and has a well-established premed advising office, particularly one that writes Committee Letters.
A more traditional premed feeder school is going to provide shadowing opps, medically-related ECs, Mock Interviews, etc
The University of Alabama brings in actual med school interviewers to give practice interviews to premeds prior to the med school app season. UA also writes Committee Letters.
Lastly, unless a student truly had no other affordably options, I would not recommend a school where her stats are so much higher than the middle quartiles.
Alabama’s better publics offer free tuition to instate students with an ACT 30+, so they’re poaching top students away from Troy. That will likely always prevent Troy from enrolling a large number of high stats students.
If a premed wants to come to the state of Alabama, then s/he’d be better off looking at Alabama, Auburn, UAB, UAH or USouthAlabama. Those are the feeder premed schools.
It sounds like the area that I’m from is the exact opposite of Philadelphia. Maybe I’d like it there since I dislike my hometown so much 
From the looks of it, Alabama seems like the closest match to what I’m looking for out of these schools so far.
@flynn4meghan Will you be able to visit Alabama? If so, let me know and I’ll tell you how to set up a great visit.
OP, for what it’s worth, I live in suburban Philadelphia, where I also grew up. I’ve also lived in Southern California (my husband is a native Los Angeleno, and my older son was born in San Diego), so perhaps I can add a little perspective to what others have shared.
When I was a student at UPenn in West Philly 30 years ago, several of my close friends were students at Temple in North Philly. Temple’s surrounding neighborhood has always been dicier than Penn’s in terms of safety, but both schools are in the city and crime is a reality of living in the big city anywhere. Nonetheless, both schools have very good public safety departments, and no one I know has ever had a serious safety issue attending either school (or Drexel, for that matter). It’s a common concern among local suburban parents that Temple is in an “unsafe” area, and yet people go to school and work there every day with few issues.
My son is at Bama on the Presidential Scholarship (full tution) plus the engineering stipend ($2500/year). He has a close friend from home who passed on Carnegie Mellon (too expensive) and is now a happy Temple student where he received a comparable scholarship.
Penn’s campus is adjacent to Drexel’s for those not aware. Drexel was near bankruptcy 20 years ago (for whoever asked about that upthread), but it is fairly strong today. They’ve been too ambitious in their growth in my opinion, but their graduates do very well. My niece went to Drexel 10 years ago and is ‘living the life’ in San Francisco today. 
Temple and Bama seem like great options for a premed because of their generous merit awards and because they’re both affiliated with medical schools and teaching hospitals. UAB would also be a good choice due to its location in Birmingham, where UA’s medical school is also located. I don’t know anything specifically about scholarships there, but University of South Alabama might be worth looking at too as they have a medical school affiliated with them.
You need to know if you’d prefer city life to a traditional big college experience and if you’re not able to visit I would find a campus you like in Michigan and see which of these schools most closely resembles it.
Of course the University of Michigan would be ideal for your goals, but only you can determine if it’s an affordable option. (And unless someone telling you any debt you take on for undergrad won’t matter is also willing to pick up the tab, I would urge caution. Especially since you want to go to medical school which is VERY expensive.)
I agree with others that, for someone with your stats and ambitions, Troy doesn’t make as much sense, unless there’s something else about the school that draws you to it. (I’ve never been there and am basing that on what I’ve read about the school.)
Good luck!
The web sites of Drexel and Penn clearly indicate that their campus safety departments have actual police departments. Temple does not seem to advertise the existence of its own police department.
http://www.drexel.edu/publicsafety/police/Overview/
http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/uppd/
http://www.temple.edu/safety/about/
http://www.temple.edu/safety/about/faq.asp (reference to police here)
Yes, @ucbalumnus, Penn hired its first class of actual police academy-trained officers when I was a student there. I didn’t want to get into the nitty gritty of police forces vs. security officers, but to my knowledge all three campuses have a significant police presence in the area.
Here’s info from Temple:
@mom2collegekids I won’t be able to visit any time soon unfortunately but I’m definitely going to try either over winter or spring break!
@luciethelackie Wow thank you for all the info! I feel as if I’m the kind of person who could be happy in a lot of different places. Even though the schools are very different I’m finding things I like within each of them so it’s not making the decision easy. I can say though that I will be crossing Troy off my last thanks to all the feedback on this thread!