<p>Hi Astoria22, I had assumed my post would elicit a negative response from you, but no. You are an impressive person.</p>
<p>Hi All -</p>
<p>My daughter is thinking of U SC. Hearing the crime of late is a little concerning. I’m from the DC area so we hear endless crimes stories on the news. The first impression I had of U of SC that I thought it seemed like a great school - big school with small school feel. Town “seems” safe. U of MD crime is horrible always in the news so I thought U of SC might be safe for her to walk around. Safety to me was one of the main plusses of this school. Ok - scratch that. But I guess it still is relatively safe - just have to not walk around with iphones, ipods hanging out of your pockets.</p>
<p>I’m happy to hear of people deciding between UNC and U SC. UNC is a hard school. That was the reservation I had with USC that it is the easier school to get into from all that she applied to including UGA. Worry about the job outcome it the end. And what help the school gives you for internships and recruitment alumni etc… Besides that I think it is a beautiful campus and she would probably shine academically. Trying to figure this out.</p>
<p>helpdeciding, does she know what she wants to major in yet? That might be a big factor in where she decides to go.</p>
<p>No way buddy, im trying to get the natives restless. That is the only way you get the truth. As we have discussed ny yorkers have seen alot and have thick skin. I love the south and i loved usc. I wish i had the opportunity to go there. Beautiful place. My feeling regarding evaluating schools in a similar grouping is this ( if the student is a student and works hard it doesnt matter where they attend college. For example a cpa is a cpa regarless of where they attend school. Often times it is a certain professor that impacts your life. That professor can be at any school. Therefore, it is critical one is comfortable, safe and gets the diversity needed to compete in this global world. I like bigger schools for that reason. When your are in an economics class and you are hearing from students in 40 states describing life where they live, thats education. Whereas schools concentrated with students all from the same area do not provide the diversity of a big school. Anyway, you sound like a good guy as well and i respect your views which were helpful. My only goal here is to help me make an informed decision for her and safety is part of that. That being said common sense and being where you should be late at night will minimize any problems. And perhaps the best advice of all is to treat people as you would like to be treated. If you do that the world is a very nice place. I have traveled extensively with work and have never ever had an issue with anyone. So thanks and good luck to all of the students lucky enough to consider usc columbia… Go gamecocks “tanner-spurrier-martin” not a bad coaching lineup…sounds like alot of fun to me</p>
<p>After being 99% sure he would attend USC, my son changed his mind and is now going to NC State. I asked him to tell me what, specifically, it was that made him change his mind. He said State felt far safer to him than SC. It was more a gut-level feeling (well, and we were accosted by a panhandler during our visit to SC, which in and of itself is not a big deal, but it put a bad taste in his mouth). He said the minute we got to campus at State, he felt completely safe, and definitely did not have that feeling at SC. After our SC visit he kept saying things like “I feel like I’ll get mugged if I stay at the library and walk home late at night.” It may not be true, but he really didn’t feel the campus was safe. It’s a shame.</p>
<p>(when I say “accosted”, I mean he was a very aggressive panhandler - not wanting to leave us alone, followed us, etc.)</p>
<p>Too bad , that can happen anywhere as i have been told often here. But honestly i understand. You do have to go with your gut in life, but it can happen anywhere. What doesnt kill you makes you stronger too. Good luck at nc state… Especially in football</p>
<p>It will be up to the individual once graduated to impress companies. Coming from unc vs usc will be less and less about the school and more and more about the individual as life goes on… I really dont think it matter much. I have seen harvard grads not make it in the business world sometimes because of shyness or introvertedness. Its the entire package that counts. In business the meek do not inherit the earth…</p>
<p>Helpdeciding, </p>
<p>I’ll just toss in our experience. Carolina was a fabulous time for our D. She thrived in the business school (finance), made wonderful friends in her sorority (she’s got two trips planned to sisters’ weddings over the summer), loved the football/baseball excitement, social events, Dance Marathon, etc.,never had a single problem with any crime in Columbia/Five Points/Vista. She landed a fantastic job with an aerospace/defense contractor in McLean at a very competitive salary within about a month of graduation! She truly never had a bad experience and loved everything about the school. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>I echo Lynchburg’s sentiments – we have 2 students at USC, one to graduate in May (and she is not looking forward to ending her time at USC). Both kids feel safe, but they also have been trained to always be alert of their surroundings and avoid being out at night alone. We’re from an urban area (metro DC) so for them Columbia is very manageable, they wouldn’t have been happy at an isoloated campus.</p>
<p>From what I have been told, many of the panhandlers are regulars and pretty much permanent fixtures around campus. Many of the panhandlers are well known by various nicknames and the location that they hang out it. Like “Confederate Joe” lives at the Kangaroo store on Whaley Drive.</p>
<p>I lived, worked, and put myself through school in DC (George Washington U) and I had the regular panhandlers as well. There was one guy who I diagnosed in my own head with paranoid schizophrenia as he would speak to people who weren’t there, etc, but he would walk with me every morning when I got off the Metro to walk to my office. He would talk nonsense and I would listen, nod and laugh with him. I never felt unsafe - ever. And he always seemed to like to be with me, even though I only gave him $ when I really had enough (which was very rare). My kids have not been exposed to ‘big city life’, but I’m sure, had my son decided to go to SC, he would have figured out that it’s not that big a deal.</p>
<p>This thread is really a moot point - I grew up in Miami, went to school at UF, and live in Orlando…crime is everywhere, panhandlers are everywhere, drugs are everywhere, and if you are at an ISOLATED school without any exposure, you’re not living in the real world. I mean, DC has the highest murder rate in the country, Johns Hopkins and Yale are surrounded by some of the scummiest locations you can imagine…there were murders in Gainesville (a small university town), a shooter in virginia…yet, the schools are awesome, everyone who goes loves them, and they all lived to tell about it (with my condolences to those families whose children were murdered).</p>
<p>We can go round and round talking about isolated incidents, crime rates, schools in poor locations, etc. - none of it matters…Columbine, Virginia Tech, Serial Killers can and do happen anywhere, not just in a big “crime-ridden” city. Be smart, take precautions, and live your life. I actually feel sorry for anyone who makes a school decision based on a city’s crime rate. Yale alone would fail.</p>
<p>For anyone worried about he crime in the 5 points area read this</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Carter-Opie-Strange/165142410219980[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Carter-Opie-Strange/165142410219980</a></p>
<p>This just happens to be the worse case so far but there have been many more recent events. Go to thestate.com and search 5 points. This was one of the first schools we visited and ruled it out because of the increased crime.</p>
<p>growing up in a pretty cruddy part of nyc, columbia seems like disney world to me. 
can’t wait to go next year, not worried about my safety at all compared to where i grew up.</p>
<p>on the street where i grew up i couldn’t even walk outside during daytime without my dad. my block was maybe 100 meters long and in the 8th grade, the year before i moved, four people on that one 100m strip died, two were murdered (one right outside my apartment), the other two from heroine.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say Columbia is really that dangerous. I mean, I grew up near the one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, so I guess I have a high tolerance, but still. Don’t walk around 5 points by yourself at night and other common sense stuff, and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>@pbojkner, I’m with you, I love NYC - although we live right next to Disney World, so I can’t say USC will exactly be like Disney for my son since he really grew up in Mickey’s shadow. Seriously, a mugging over an ipod and panhandlers now qualify as serious crimes? Please visit my city of Orlando or hometown Miami (or any city with a population over 100K for that matter), and I’ll show you how the other half lives. And seriously, if you’re that scared of the swinging metropolis of Columbia, SC you may want to consider joining a monastery. I love USC for the people, the city, the school…it’s as real as it gets.</p>
<p>@jmarietol, I believe you may be talking to home-schoolers who never let their kids out of their site…you know the ones who go completely wild at college once they finally taste a bit of the real world. Common sense is not a common trait among these folks.</p>
<p>Well that was pretty damn offensive. “We” heartily apologize for having some concern about our children’s safety. None of us has been excessively paranoid, so your remarks are needlessly snarky.</p>
<p>By the way StoneMagic, my college-bound son is out of my “site” [sic] constantly, volunteering in the local housing projects as a big-brother and sees his share of “the real world”, as you put it recently, very frequently. It was his own gut-feeling that SC didn’t feel safe, and that NCSU felt safer. I suppose I should have forced him to go to SC so he wouldn’t appear sheltered and could really get a dose of life. :::eye roll:::</p>