I was looking at some schools, building up my college list.
While I was researching, I came across two good schools, USC and JHU.
JHU is in Baltimore, a very dangerous city, somewhere online it said murder rates are at an all time high. USC has a reputation of being unsafe due to some of the killings that occurred on campus.
Obviously many other schools in unsafe or ‘ghetto’ areas such as UC Berkeley, U Chicago.
Does crime actually affect student’s lives? I have no experience with crime as the city I live in is incredibly safe and literally there have been no murders/robberies here in the past couple of years.
My mother insists that the schools are unsafe and I’ll die there. I think I should be fairly safe within school walls and if I don’t go outside at 2am and attract attention, I should be totally fine.
I live a few minutes away from UC Berkeley, and it’s definently a safe campus, but to be cautious people shouldn’t wander the campus very late in dark areas alone, but that’s almost any big campus or major city. I’ve been at the campus around midnight multiple times and never felt in danger. Campus police are present and you can see them patrolling. The area around UC Berkeley is also touristy and busy even until late at night.
Much of the crime on college campuses may be due to students who grew up in low crime areas and are naive at crime prevention, making them easy victims, resulting in criminals being attracted to college campuses. Examples:
Leaving doors and windows unlocked and their valuables unattended so that thieves can easily steal their valuables.
Getting badly drunk so that criminals (robbers, rapists, etc.) can commit crimes against them without them being aware enough to notice, escape, resist, or give a coherent account of the crime and suspect to the police later.
At parties, leaving drinks unattended so that criminals can put knockout / date-rape drugs in them, resulting in the above scenario.
Remember, criminals may be other students (as commonly noted in the threads about rape).
One other thing: know whether the school’s “campus safety” department is an actual police department or part of an actual police department. Check the website of that department to see whether it uses “police” to describe itself, or avoids using the word “police” except to refer to other organizations which are the local city, county, or state police departments. If a crime appears imminent, is in progress, or needs to be reported to the police, be sure to call the actual police.
@rdeng2614 Don’t let people tell you urban campuses are as safe as suburban or rural campuses. You will have to change your behavior in every way on an urban campus.
Criminals go to school. It’s surprised me to learn during my son’s college orientation that the school had three sex offenders registered in classes. Naturally, parents asked why these people would even be allowed in school. The answer, we were told, is that criminals have rights. Legally, the school can’t deny admission based solely on a person’s criminal record. My son’s school has a pretty safe history, but kids should be aware that they may be walking among criminals, maybe even taking a class with a criminal. Where ever you are, just operate with a sense of precaution and common sense. Never assume you’re living on a safe little island.
I have just posted about similar concerns with safety. I googled “armed robbery” and “sexual assault” and “(college name)” for every school on my daughter’s list, and was scared off by what I read about one UC campus in particular. Several armed robberies ON CAMPUS, even in the middle of the day. Several violent assault/GANG RAPES just off campus. It was pretty shocking to me. All of the other schools had crime, but more of what I expected to see: theft, burglaries (many leave their windows and doors unlocked), date rapes, intoxication, fights, etc. After reading your post this morning, i googled “armed robbery” and UC Berkeley and was shocked once again, to learn that there was one just yesterday on campus, and that the police are concerned with the rise in crime right on that campus, even recommending that all students use Bear Walk on campus at night (escorts) so that no one is ever walking on campus alone. I guess you and your parents need to decide if you are comfortable living like that (in fear?) Many people feel very safe at UCB and other schools, but it is not about how they feel. Everyone has a different comfort zone. And of course, anything can happen anywhere. However, There are many “safer” campuses. If the concern is real, it might be best to consider those instead.
PS Most colleges to not have "walls"around them. Some, like Columbia, have gates - but when you visit you will see that they are not actually closed.
Remember that you will be living at ____ College/University, not necessarily in the city itself. I’m going to school in a relatively high crime city (Worcester, MA) but I’ve been told that as long as one doesn’t go off campus alone at night and practice common sense, one can stay pretty safe. There have been two sexual assaults reported in the last ten years on campus. And make sure to check crime stats for the SCHOOL, as @2018eastorwest did. Even if the campus is open, the crime might not bleed across the boundaries of the school in either direction.
As mentioned in prior posts, people have a much more visceral response when it comes to UCB and say USC, but the reality, per crime stats, place like MIT, Harvard and U Conn, have a higher incidence rate. I guess it’s easy to place labels on south central and Oakland, but Storrs and Cambridge get a pass…telling.
I went to Barnard/Columbia in the 1970s, when crime rates were much higher than they are now, and I felt that the campus and its immediate Morningside Heights neighborhood were some of the safest places in the world. It was brightly-lit, well-patrolled, and people were up and about at all hours (including some 24-hour delis and diners). You’ll find that students on urban campuses learn quickly where and when it’s safe to wander. College students are at much greater physical risk from drunk and/or distracted driving, or substance abuse, than they are from random street violence (which is overwhelmingly confined to criminals in their own neighborhoods). They are just as likely to have valuables stolen by dorm-mates as by burglars. My husband went from Columbia to graduate school at UVA, where his apartment was burglarized in idyllic Charlottesville. Most American cities have never been safer than they are now.
So basically crime rates in a city are not really reflective of how it is on campus as there is plenty of security on campus to prevent crime from occurring. @Justonedad I might try to take some boxing/taekwondo classes so I’ll be prepared for anything no matter where I go.
Business Insider attempted to analyze the issue in 2012: “The Most Dangerous Colleges in America.” Along with the relative comparisons, pay attention to the absolute figures as well, which differ less than a ranking like this may make it appear.
I would look at the campus crime rates and the crime rates for the areas immediately surrounding the campus. You have two different kinds of threats - petty/street crime (most campuses to varying degrees) and systemic failure (like in Baltimore) . There are also random shootings by crazies which occur … randomly.
Probably the best measure is the response that the college has to get you home safely. You will , at one time or another, be at school late. If you fell threatened, apply for a CCW permit and check the campus and state regulations.
Well, it might be better than nothing, but taking “some” classes doesn’t prepare you for much at all. You really need to train enough so you have some skill and reactions are second nature.