<p>This isn’t the first year there are flash mobs in Philly. I haven’t heard of them in previous years in any other cities. When I go on Penn’s campus, or even on the periphery of it, I always see a lot of campus security and policemen. Penn students can attest to that obviously. The fact of the matter is, if you want near perfect safety or security then Philly is not going to compare to a school in a rural or suburban area.</p>
<p>This is a good opportunity to practice being safe and not putting yourself in a position where you would, say, encounter a flash mob (how likely do you think that is to happen?) or get mugged. I’m sure during orientation you will have workshops or information on how you can be safe while on Penn’s campus – pay attention. I wouldn’t listen to some poster’s advice about not going into any city ever if you’re scared of Philly… obviously. I think it would’ve been more constructive of them to say that you should exercise caution and good judgement in any city you go to.</p>
<p>Safety is a personal issue and I don’t think that any poster here can judge what is safe for any other person – nor should they deride the OP for bringing up a legitimate issue because the fact of the matter is that Philly is one of the more dangerous cities in the US.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that the Philly neighborhoods in which Penn students generally find themselves (University City, Center City, etc.) are no more dangerous than similar neighborhoods in comparable cities. Philly’s crime problems should no more prevent students from attending and enjoying Penn than similar crime problems in NYC, New Haven, Boston, Chicago, DC, and Baltimore should prevent students from attending and enjoying Columbia, NYU, Yale, Harvard, U. of Chicago, Georgetown, or Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>Liminal, there is a difference between being reasonably apprehensive and making the blanket statements that hafsarox made in this thread. That kind of talk irritates me because not only is it entirely exaggerated, it’s incredibly close minded and honestly makes her look bad. I grew up in the suburbs and a lot of people I knew in high school had this same attitude about nearby cities which was just outright ridiculous. It also made kids from other suburbs label my classmates as out of touch with reality. If you go through your life living in a bubble this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and you will see a world similar to how you perceive it in your mind. </p>
<p>The reality is that Philadelphia is a perfectly safe city to live in if you are careful and exercise street smarts. If you go about it this way, not only will you be safe, but you enjoy the city.</p>
<p>I don’t go to UPenn, but I do know people who do. Philadelphia, from their accounts at least, is pretty dangerous. Obviously it would be stupid to tell a student not to attend UPenn because Philadelphia is dangerous but, like liminal said, advising the OP to exercise caution would not be out of order. </p>
<p>45Percenter, the only city that is as dangerous as Philadelphia on your list is New Haven. For an experienced poster, you’ve given pretty lousy advice on this thread. Unnecessarily glorifying your college on College Confidential will not change reality and its imperfections.</p>
Read the pages to which I linked, and Google some of your own, and you’ll see how factually incorrect your statement is. This is a matter of statistics and hard data, and not your personal opinions or impressions.</p>
<p>I stand by my posts, and the uncontrovertible objective evidence on which they’re based.</p>
<p>One of the sad things that likely contributes to a negative image of the city is racism. Philadelphia is much more integrated than cities like Chicago and because of this the issue of safety is treated pretty harshly. Dozens of Chicago public school students have been shot walking to school in the past few years, yet I feel we do not hear the same stereotypes about the city because it is racially and economically so segregated.</p>
<p>Are you joking…you realize mentoring is through Penn programs? …Where do you live, Princeton New Jersey???</p>
<p>And no offense ** hookedongtown **, but at least 45percenter actually has data to back up his claims…as opposed to you, whose only evidence is hearsay: “I heard from a few people I know…” I don’t mean to be hostile, but you don’t go to Penn, and 45 Percenter does…I don’t know why you’re arguing with him.</p>
Actually, DID. I’m an alum, and I’ve lived as an adult in several of these cities, including NYC, DC, and Philly. I’m still intimately familiar with Philly, and currently spend lots of time in Center City and University City, as well as several other Philly neighborhoods. I’ve observed from up close the incredible renaissance of both Center City and University City over the past 20 years, and the vast majority of Penn students and recent grads that I encounter–both in person and online–view those two Philly neighborhoods as major positives of their Penn experience. And I’m confident that the vast majority of you '15ers will, too. ;)</p>
I’m an alum, and I’ve lived as an adult in several of these cities, including NYC, DC, and Philly. I’m still intimately familiar with Philly, and currently spend lots of time in Center City and University City, as well as several other Philly neighborhoods. I’ve observed from up close the incredible renaissance of both Center City and University City over the past 20 years, and the vast majority of Penn students and recent grads that I encounter–both in person and online–view those two Philly neighborhoods as major positives of their Penn experience. And I’m confident that the vast majority of you '15ers will, too. ;)</p>