<p>Look HafsaRox, if you do a simple Google search for ‘worst cities in the world’ Philadelphia isn’t even on the list. Philadelphia doesn’t even crack the ‘worst cities in the US’ list compiled with FBI crime data.</p>
<p>My cousin lived in Oakland for most of her life and is now attending the University of the Pacific, located in Stockton. Both of these cities are among the most dangerous cities in America, but nothing bad happened to her. You just need to practice street-smarts. Philadelphia is far from being the miserable place you painted it out to be in your head.</p>
<p>Philadelphia was a plus for me in considering this school. I liked the quasi-urban feel of west Philly and access to city center. University city is so gentrified, especially in the area where students live. Some people really have very strange views about what is safe/not. When I spent a summer at UVa people living/attending tried to tell me Charlottesville, Va was dangerous.</p>
<p>Op: Why don’t you go complain about another school and start looking for the positives of the school you are going to. Who knows, one of those trollish whartonites might befriend you (LOL).</p>
<p>You should only be scared of Philly if you venture into the ghetto parts at night. And if you’re smart enough to get to Penn you’re also smart enough to not do stupid things.</p>
<p>You <em>need</em> to relax; you are literally freaking yourself out. I like that Philly is a little rugged, I didn’t like Princeton or Dartmouth for the reason that it was just so boring (no offense, students) to me, it wasn’t exciting, and it lacked personality (again, my personal opinion). Think of all the community service to be done in Penn, all the potential for doing good that you have there, because of the location you are in.</p>
<p>Yes, Philadelphia can be raggedy and crime-ridden in some areas, and there are places where people are poor, but that just means that you can make more of a difference there. What kind of really life-changing things are going to happen in Princeton, New Jersey? At Penn, you can mentor students, help make the city cleaner, work at a soup kitchen, etc etc. And Philly has a lot more to do–beautiful museums, world-renowned orchestra, great food–than a more affluent, small “safe” town.</p>
<p>Also depending on where you are NYC isn’t exactly crime free…</p>
<p>If you really loathe Philly that much, why are you even coming to Penn?<br>
Ok so there are crimes. EVERY MAJOR CITY has crimes. If you’re looking for a city where there are no crimes at all, you will have no luck because that DOESN’T EXIST.</p>
<p>And seriously, not to be mean or anything, but you can’t live your whole life living under a rock. You have to know how to handle certain situations and certain people. If anything, living in Philly will teach you great life lessons. I mean seriously, if you’re walking in a ghetto alleyway at 3 AM all by yourself, obviously something is going to happen. But guess what? Nobody actually does that. Unless you’re high. </p>
<p>Point is, you just have to be cautious. And around the University City area, there are plenty of people and plenty of police officers.</p>
<p>@HafsaRox: Wow, why be so hostile to wilddreams? Why’s his/her opinion useless? I’m pretty sure that s/he’s currently at Philadelphia. Also, mentoring and working at soup kitchens doesn’t increase the chances of you being mugged in my experience. I mentored kids and helped out in soup kitchens in some sketchy areas. Nothing bad happened to me. Why would people decide to beat you senseless for helping them? Sure there are jerks in the world, but not everyone who lives in financially disadvantaged areas is like that.</p>
<p>I honestly do like Penn a lot, and hope to give back as much to it as possible for the opportunity that it has granted me by accepting my application. I just have a few concerns about it. That’s all. </p>
<p>If you watch the full video, they mention this happening other cities (Washington D.C., somewhere in Wisconsin, I know for a fact it has also been an issue in Chicago). This is also on national news, so of course they are going to make a big deal out of it. I have been in Philadelphia since June and have freely walked on campus and into the city without ever seeing anything even closely resembling a flash mob.</p>
<p>I would also like to point out, that from what I have experienced at Penn, I really feel for these kids. While they most definitely shouldn’t be taking out their anger in this form, they really have gotten the short stick in life. If you saw the condition of the Philadelphia public school system, maybe you would have empathy for these kids too. There are schools that are about as segregated in their student bodies as before Brown. The unfortunate thing in this country is that whenever you see a segregated school, it equates to poverty.
The vast majority of students are very poor and there is no money for the resources the school needs to succeed. However the six and seven year olds I saw are some of the sweetest, most down to earth kids I have ever met. They have so much potential and it’s really sad to think that it could go to waste because they don’t have the same opportunities as many of my peers. When a kid is repeatedly shut down and told no over so many years they often become hardened to protect themselves and this is when bad things happen.</p>
<p>Our goal at Penn with our community partnerships is to reach these kids before it is too late. And happily we’ve made a lot of progress. One of the elementary schools that was among the worst in the state a decade ago now makes adequate yearly progress.</p>
<p>So don’t denigrate what Penn has tried to achieve because of your misconceptions. Hopefully you will try to broaden your mind when you get here. It is because of people who feel the need to shut others out and live in fear that the world is currently such a dangerous place.</p>
<p>HafsaRox - I watch the news. I am so with poeme on this. Two days ago a motorcycle rider was killed making a turn in front of the school…should we ban motorcycles? Read in the paper several people died as a result of driving too fast on country roads…should we all avoid driving or country roads?</p>
<p>We visited a school in Boston surrounded by beautiful homes and a country club golf course and yet my son chose Penn over that. One of the main reasons was how he felt there…the dynamics of the city. The best way to learn about the world is to live in it, not stay “safe” at home. Besides, who know if the “bad guys” won’t come for you in your home.</p>
<p>Oh and for the record, I would be concerned no matter where my son went…I worried when he drove 2 miles to high school. But I refuse to dwell on the negative. There is sooooo much negativity on the news. But there are so many positive things happening and aren’t on the news. Get ready for your adventure…</p>
<p>Why do you doubt I won’t get into Penn? That’s pretty derogatory, seeing as how you don’t know me or know anything about me. Nonetheless, I will let that go, since your opinions are pretty useless to me as well. </p>
<p>I’m guessing you think my comments are useless because I don’t go to Penn? I will have you know that I have been living in Philadelphia almost all my life and I am on UPenn’s campus everyday. I know my city inside and out, so i’m pretty sure my opinions are the MOST useful. </p>
<p>But in all honesty, i’m not trying to be mean when I say: why come to Penn if you loathe Philly? Part of choosing the “right” college is choosing one that you feel comfortable in. And if you don’t feel comfortable in Philly, then it’s not the place for you. Don’t go complaining about it on a UPenn thread where you know people won’t always have the same views as you. Complaining won’t lessen any crimes.</p>
<p>As for the flash mobs, yeah I know they’re scary, but the video makes it seem like there are flash mobs EVERYWHERE. That’s not true. And Philly is trying to do the best it can to prevent these crimes. The best thing you can do is stay cautious and be around people at all times. I agree with capenn15; you can’t always stay “safe” at home. The world is much more than that. And the best way to learn about the world is to get out of your comfort zone.</p>
<p>So HafsaRox could you tell me who you are so I can avoid you and your negativity on campus? Seriously you mentioned in this or some other thread that you regret not going to Columbia but dwelling on the negatives of Penn and trying to argue with other people that Philly sucks is not going to magically make you transfer back to Columbia or make your time at Penn any more pleasant. If anything WHY did you apply to Penn if you’re so terrified of urban settings? And NY too do you know how many crimes happen out of Harlem esp. in wealthy areas like the UES? Grow up, suck it up and if you really have to go wallow in your misery please do it somewhere else.</p>
<p>I’m honestly not concerned at all to be in Philly. I’ve never had anything happen to me even with 4 am McDonalds runs and late nights at South Street. Every city has crime and my hometown is way worse than Philly, as are many cities, and if you spend your whole life being afraid to go anywhere because of a few incidents you won’t enjoy yourself. There’s nothing wrong with never leaving campus but if it’s just because you’re afraid because the news said so then you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities. </p>
<p>You’re being pretty annoying in these threads . I understand you’re apprehensive about moving away to school and the such, maybe some regrets over “what if,” but you don’t need to be rude to people or already sabotage your freshman year. Moving far away and starting over sucks at first, but if you actually try to make friends or find a group where you fit in at Penn it won’t be that bad. I went in regretting my decision to go to Penn and now I can’t imagine going somewhere else, and I can’t stand being “home” because Penn feels a lot more like home than anywhere else.</p>