<p>I've grown up my entire life in Central Florida, so I have a strong leaning to just stay in-state. However, I have some family in Lousiana, and I like the attitude there(maybe I've just met nice people, but I can't remember having any bad experiences the times we've been up there). I'm mostly consider UF, New College, and Eckerd College as in-state schools, while considering applying to Tulane University in New Orleans. I've read good things about it so far, but I'm not sure how I'd adapt to the possible high-crime rates, as I come from a very safe, suburban background. If anyone here can offer perspectives on any of the following Florida schools, or Tulane(or even LSU), please drop a comment below! </p>
<p>Tl;DR, what's it like going to one of the various Florida schools below, versus Tulane? What are some pros, and cons, not just about the school, but the crime rates, the environment, the culture, etc, etc.</p>
<p>Info:
SAT: 1950
ACT: 25
Class rank: 80th percentile </p>
<p>Eckerd College
Flagler College
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Southern College
New College
Rollins College
Saint Leo University
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of North Florida
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
University of West Florida</p>
<p>I have a co-worker who went to Tulane, and he loved it. He grew up in the middle of Wyoming and didn’t seem to have a problem adjusting to New Orleans.</p>
<p>People always over-exaggerate how dangerous places can be.</p>
<p>Your stats are likely to be too low for Tulane (unless, by 80th percentile, you meant Top 20%, in which case, it’s a reach).
These colleges are all very different; Eckerd and New College have a similar vibe, which is quite different from Tulane or UF or UMiami.</p>
<p>I grew up in central Florida and I’m always surprised at how much crime seems to occur there when I visit and watch the local news. If you check the 2013 FBI list of cities with the most violent crime, Miami comes in at #17, Orlando comes in at #24 with Baton Rouge. LA at #25. New Orleans doesn’t appear at all on the top 25 so I really think your worries are baseless.</p>
<p>Tulane is a fine school as is your own state flagship so looking at crime data may not be the best way to search for a college.</p>
<p>If you are really that worried about crime you should probably get out of Florida.</p>
<p>MYO: I meant 80th percentile, as in top 20%(I’m in the early 100s out of 500 people, at an “A” school). I understand how UF and New College or Eckerd have different vibes, but if you could go into more detail about them versus Tulane, that would be awesome. </p>
<p>Sarasota, where New College is, seems like a pretty safe place.</p>
<p>You would be no less safe in and around Tulane than around any campus in Central Florida. Common sense is important around any college campus as students become targets for those looking to snatch smart phones. LSU or Tulane would offer a significantly different experience than Central Florida.</p>
<p>Tulane is a vibrant campus in a vibrant city. The architecture, the music, the culture and the food. Tulane is also one of the most geographically diverse universities. Most students who attend Tulane come from over 800 miles away from home.</p>
<p>Most of the Florida schools you mentioned are attended by Floridians.</p>
<p>Tulane wouldn’t have the reputation it does if its students were mugged left and right. :)</p>
<p>Florida actually sounds pretty scary to an outsider with this law that allows anyone with a weapon to shoot it at you if they find you shifty or scary or whatever (I forgot the name of the law but the basic premise sounds scary, sorry Floridians - the positive aspect of it being that foreign friends of mine felt reassured, since the controversy around it proved to them that it wasn’t a law everywhere in the US as they had assumed until then. )</p>
<p>I know there is crazy new about Florida all the time, but like I said, the place I grew up in, and the in-state colleges I’ve visited so far all seemed like they were in very safe areas.</p>
<p>Eckerd and New College are both in safe areas.
If you want truly safe, “leave the keys on the dashboard while you run for groceries” safe, pick a rural, Midwestern college. Or even a Midwestern college in a college town. :)</p>
<p>Don’t worry too much about safety, colleges try their best to ensure their students are safe.
And obviously don’t walk alone, drunk, at 4am in a dark alley (except in the aforementioned Midwestern small towns, where someone might drive you home… nah, just exagerating a little). :p</p>
<p>Florida and it’s public/private campus are fairly safe.</p>
<p>First, looking at violent crime rate by state, Florida has a lower rate than Louisiana (and Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico…you get the idea). Louisiana had the 2nd highest murder rate by state (behind DC). </p>
<p>@JoBlue, since New Orleans is only second to Detroit in murder rate, I think you should revisit the stats (In 2010, 175 murders in New Orleans vs. 18 in Orlando). Orlando major issue is robberies (but the area around UCF is a fairly low crime area). </p>
<p>Safety shouldn’t be a major concern at any Florida school (on that list). No more than it should be on any college campus (you should always be careful). Florida has several large urban areas, but the campuses are not located in these areas (with the exception of a few).</p>
<p>Tulane is a great school and one of it’s main draws is New Orleans; a fantastic city to visit. However, like any major city, you should use caution and avoid the worse parts of town. I would recommend you visit the Tulane forum to get a better sense of the campus.</p>
<p>The murders in New Orleans are largely gang on gang affairs. If u aren’t part of that nether world and avoid particular areas of the city, murder is a non-issue.</p>
<p>Trust me, I know the Orlando area very well and have family & friends there who are personally experienced in terms of being victimized by crimes in and around the area. I was questioning the OP’s sense that she is living in some sort of crime-free nirvana in Central Florida.</p>
<p>However, it’s really silly to cite dueling crime statistics websites because what we are discussing is choosing a college and I think it’s absurd to focus on comparing the crime rate in one city vs another as a factor. Is anyone really going to turn down a Harvard admission (or BC, or Holy Cross, or Northeastern, or BU) because of the bombing and several days of terror there last year?</p>
<p>I personally believe that the campus of every Florida school on the OP’s list are no more or less dangerous than that of any school in New Orleans or the state of LA but there are a lot more important things to consider before choosing where to apply and that’s where the OP’s focus should be.</p>
<p>Is this for real? Based on what? Didn’t realize Miami was so highly regarded, and Tulane so low. I always assumed Tulane was the better school. What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of Miami and Tulane?</p>
<p>BigDaddy: Yes, but according to my college profile book(the data was taken from 2012) the average composite SAT score for U of Miami is 1923(I got 1930 on the SAT my second time, making my super score 1950), so it’s within my realm of possibilities. Tulane would be more of a reach, with their score average being 2005. If allowed, I’d probably only send in my SAT superscore.</p>
<p>informative: if you could go into detail as to why you feel that the colleges’ rankings should be in that order, that would be awesome. Otherwise it kind of looks like “I went to this school, so it was obviously the best”.</p>
<p>To everyone, I’m scared about crime largely because, as a teenager, I’ve never lived on my own before, and I don’t have the most driving experience(I’m working on that =P) so my only cripes with Tulane would be getting used to being away from my parents, while being able to get around on my own and know how to “stay out of trouble”. I’m not stupid, so I wouldn’t be running into any dark alleys or anything like that, but I’ve only been to New Orleans a few times, mostly while I was a kid(my last time was a couple of years ago, and we only spent about a day in it). I just don’t want to go in so inexperienced that I do something stupid or go somewhere that I’m not aware is really bad. It probably isn’t THAT bad, like most of you are saying, but it would still worry me. At the same time, I feel like the vibrancy and life of the culture would help me feel enthusiastic and not feel discouraged by the course load. I have family in Lousiana about an hour from New Orleans, so I could visit them if I chose. So yup, that’s my dilemma. In all likelihood I’ll end up staying in Florida, but I’d like to consider the idea of Tulane, at least right now.</p>
<p>Miami is ranked 47.
UF is ranked 49.
Tulane is ranked 52.</p>
<p>They are very similarly ranked and my point was that these three should be considered above any of the other schools you listed. Out of the three, geographic location and costs should be considered.</p>
<p>Out of the three, Miami has the best repuation academically and has recently been moving up fairly quickly in the rankings. It is also in probably the best geographic location of the three.</p>
<p>UF is a very well known school, albeit more for football than for academics. That being said, there are some programs that UF offers that are decent and if you get in-state tuition, it is probably the best deal of the three.</p>
<p>Tulane is less well known than the other two. It is in a fun location, but it has a reputation of being more of a party school with sub-par academics. The campus is supposed to be in the process of redevelopment after katrina pretty much destroyed it, so hopefully they spent some money to upgrade their facilities. New Orleans would be a fun town to live in for four years.</p>
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