<p>is USC really in the ghetto as many state it is...? howfar away from campus is downtown LA, the beach, and hollywood??</p>
<p>USC is only a few blocks away from downtown. It's not in the ghetto, but the surrounding area isn't beautiful by any means. The beach is about 20 minutes away. Don't worry about any of that stuff, USC has a gorgeous campus, and you will love it there.</p>
<p>beach is like 10 miles west? not really sure about anything else, but I heard somebody on here say that the campus is statistically safer than disneyland...haha, plus there is security allll over the place around there</p>
<p>I visited one time and was amazed by the security. Patrol cars circling areas surrounding USC constantly and campus security pretty much doing their job inside the USC campus.</p>
<p>On campus, USC is safe. Step outside, it's not like UCLA's surroundings. The neighborhood is made up of many Hispanic residents. I don't know why, but many people seem to equate a not-so-wealthy city with minorities as ghetto. For example, I wouldn't call my city (Monterey Park, dominated by Asians) ghetto but I would for some place in East LA. Maybe it's the upkeep and quality of safety of the city that determines its ghetto-ness. </p>
<p>On another note, my sister (who goes to 'SC)'s friend got beat up while walking around the surroundings of 'SC recently. He's a harmless guy. That wasn't very nice.</p>
<p>It depends on what you would call "ghetto" I guess...</p>
<p>If you go off campus in a few directions a couple of miles, it does "downhill" a bit. Not exactly areas I would go alone, day or night.</p>
<p>But go off campus in other directions, it's actually not bad. I have family (who are not hispanic :) btw) who live within a couple of miles of USC.</p>
<p>On campus, USC has one of the safest urban campuses in the country/world.</p>
<p>Several friends call USC somewhat of a "bubble" because of it's bad rep, the school does a lot to have activities on or near campus for the students. It also has an awesome & very responsive security force. My S & his friends & all the friends whose kids I know who are attending/have attended USC have been safe & happy there. </p>
<p>You do need to be aware of your surroundings, as it is an urban area and there are areas off campus which are "sketchy."</p>
<p>how far is hollywood from USC?</p>
<p>My son goes there. The USC campus is nice - beautiful, but the area around USC is sketchy at best. Not the kind of place where you can take a walk for the fun of it. Gunshots at night and so on. The campus seems safe and if you are smart about walking around at night, you should be Ok. But if you don't have a car, you can end up feeling a little trapped on campus.</p>
<p>Gunshots at night, ha.</p>
<p>There are also gang knife fights twice weekly, with a matinee on sunday afternoon. Be sure to arrive early or you won't get a good view. Also, the 3rd thursday of every month is audience participation night so dress appropriately.</p>
<p>:rolls eyes: [/sarcasm]</p>
<p>I don't know. I am only relying on what my son tells me. He lives off campus. We come from an urban area so he is reasonably street wise. He says its is sketchy, not the type of place you would walk around in to commune with nature. But hey, maybe he is full of it (rolls eyes)</p>
<p>I don't mean to suggest that your son is wrong, in fact, I certainly agree there are some areas nearby I wouldn't go. But it's not as bad as people might think - USC is pretty well bounded on all sides. North by student housing, the row, university village, west by a working-class community, south by museums and exposition park, and east by USC parking structures and the freeway.</p>
<p>As for crime, not as much as you might think - I get notices for each crime reported near campus and it's only a couple each week which are in the 3-mile radius, mostly theft, and not always involving students either.</p>
<p>I don't think I've ever heard gunshots near campus, though. Maybe I've occasionally mistaken them for cars backfiring, possibly.</p>