<p>USC alum here. As another poster said, the surrounding neighborhood is urban working poor, not ghetto. If you want to see the difference, take a drive to go see the landmark Watts Towers. Drive south on Vermont and make a left on 108th, and work your way east to the Towers. Compare the neighborhoods as you go along against the USC neighborhoods. Generally, as you go south, the higher the street numbers the more ghetto it gets.</p>
<p>The gangs leave USC alone. USC is held in high regard throughout L.A., even among the bad guys. If a student gets mugged off-campus it's just a crime of opportunity that can happen in any urban area.</p>
<p>USC is not in the ghetto, not even close. Keep in mind that a good portion of the crime around campus is because it is a college campus. Students make easy targets, especially after when it's midnight and they are drunk. </p>
<p>Look, part of what makes USC, USC is the urban environment. I'd personally get bored at a school in the middle of nowhere.</p>
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The gangs leave USC alone. USC is held in high regard throughout L.A., even among the bad guys.
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<p>I don't think this has much to do with the community outreach effort, and is probably driven by the popularity of the football team. Last time I checked gangs were not much concerned about where USC is on the USNWR list, or whether crime on campus affects their ability to attract top students.</p>
<p>I have lived on/around the campuses of several large urban universities. Hide Park in Chicago is not better, at least when you step a few blocks away from the gentrified area. Columbia's neighborhood in NY used to be quite a nightmare, but improved as Harlem cleaned up. UIUC in downtown Chicago is the probably the closest approximation of USC's surroundings. While Washington Park around NYU is somewhat gentrified, walk a few blocks West towards the river our south towards the harbor and you are into a very similar environment.</p>
<p>Let me put it this way --- USC's neighborhood can be a shock to someone who has mostly lived in South Bend. On the other hand, try to get a decent cup of coffee or go to a good ethnic restaurant in South Bend and get back to me :D My brother went to ND for grad school, and he would gladly drive to Chicago just to be able to do something.</p>
<p>^ I have also heard the argument that the gangs leave USC alone, so what ever you do don't leave campus. Personally, given the amount of tuition and being educated in a "sketchy" neighborhood, I would never chose to attend. </p>
<p>The USC football team gains lots of recognition and its the first thing that many people including me think about when I hear USC.</p>
<p>auscguy-I wonder if you are in a major which has relatively larger classes. My son took an undergraduate class with 8 students in it. He had a 1:1 tutorial for Writing 140. The Freshman Engineering Academy was fantastic while exploring different areas of Engineering. True-I notice that some of the GEs are large but nothing near the 500 kids in a typical lecture hall class at a state university.</p>
<h2>Let me put it this way --- USC's neighborhood can be a shock to someone who has mostly lived in South Bend. On the other hand, try to get a decent cup of coffee or go to a good ethnic restaurant in South Bend and get back to me My brother went to ND for grad school, and he would gladly drive to Chicago just to be able to do something.</h2>
<p>Yeah, that's my main drawback with ND, SB blows, as most of N. Indiana does. But both schools, ND and SC are kind of in bad spots, for the opposite reasons, lol.</p>
<p>And by the way everyone, gus2009 is interested in UC MERCED, so you can disregard his opinion about steering clear. He's nowhere near intelligent enough to get in, much less a full ride. LOL</p>
<p>I've lived in LA my entire life, and the area that USC is in is just part of what LA is... diverse. It's got Westwoods and other trendy areas, middle-class neighborhoods, and "ghettoes" - where USC most definitely is. I don't know where it could get any worse... other than Compton, maybe? I don't really see how any other SoCal people could disagree. That being said, however, USC is my first choice school - and since I'm familiar with the fact that the immediate location is like this, and plan on being street smart, I know it's not a big deal. But yeah, if you've lived in Ohio all your life it will come as quite a shock. But like others have said, I've heard that they have "buddy" systems if you feel unsafe walking around campus at night. And the rest of the amazing city is no less than ten minutes away - Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Hollywood, etc. (If there's no traffic, that is.)</p>
<h2>I know it's not a big deal. But yeah, if you've lived in Ohio all your life it will come as quite a shock. But like others have said, I've heard that they have "buddy" systems if you feel unsafe walking around campus at night. And the rest of the amazing city is no less than ten minutes away - Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Hollywood, etc. (If there's no traffic, that is.)</h2>
<p>I live in the suburbs of Cleveland and I've been in neighborhoods like it sounds like USC is located in. My aunt lives in a dicey part of Cleveland, it's all right in the daytime, but I wouldn't want to be out much when it's dark. It is by far not the worst part of Cleveland, but not the best, there is a decent bit of violence.</p>
<p>And was the you are a moron comment directed at me? Every time I tell someone I may want to go to SC, they tell me "don't get shot", a joke, but still a legit concern. Everyone besides SC people say it's horrible, but I'm sure it's not too bad, just like a lot of people said, you have to use your head.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, hawaiiboy, I was agreeing with the comment about gus2009 - not you. You're definitely not a moron. It's a legit concern, as USC isn't the safest of areas.</p>
<p>I definetly know what I'm talking about...I do live in Pasadena and have been to the area many times you on the other hand live in MO haha. And about you questioning my intelligence...hahaha that's all I have to say. I chose UC Merced over Harvard any day! I will also turn down: UCLA, UCI, UCD, UCI, UCSB. SO?</p>
<p>My point was there is no point in arguing with you, and you're a student at USC good for you I bet that's the school that fits you best just like UCM is the school that I think will fit me best! I just don't feel safe when I visit the USC campus, and maybe you do it just happens to be that way. :)</p>
<p>USC is just like any urban city in America. It's all relative in safety but does have its homeless and low-income inhabitants. Most of the crimes I've gotten notified via DPS email occurred late night, and usually the victim was alone. The area actually does not have as many gangs as you would assume. If you're not a local, you can tell if there's a gang by their tagging, and the truth is that I rarely see any grafitti of that sort around USC. East LA and macarthur park have way more gangs, way more grafitti, and more severe/fatal crimes. But the area definitely cannot beat malibu ;)</p>
<p>I seriously doubt you have been to USC campus, and I don't even think you are from LA metro. The fact I know is nobody here call us from "Southern Cali". I think you should stay at Merced. </p>
<p>I also disagree with marmar16 on his/her statement -- "I don't know where it could get any worse... other than Compton, maybe? " I have found, during the short span I go to USC, a lot of places worse than this neighborhood. USC is just outside an area of real bad reputation, and most of places students living are typical urban communities.</p>