<p>Regarding the safety of the neighborhood surrounding the Homewood campus, I visited the campus this past summer with my son and, based upon postings here and elsewhere, I expected a pretty rough urban neighborhood. I was pleasantly surprised. First, the campus itself is simply beautiful and defined. When your on campus, you really are on the campus and not intermixed among university and non-university buildings. It’s simply a lovely campus. Second, the surrounding neighborhood is NOT the rough, threatening environment I expected based upon some posted descriptions (and that certain TV show I loved). The surrounding area struck me as a rather charming urban environment. Of course, there are risks and I wouldn’t wander alone at night, but it’s simply an urban environment. I raised my kid to understand how to conduct himself in that setting. If you want zero risks, go to Northfield, MN (pop. 15,000), but if you are willing to live like most urban people, the neighborhood around the Homewood campus seemed, well, rather routine urban. I’d have no second thoughts about allowing my kid to go to school there. Based upon what I saw, the safety of the Homewood campus should not be a deciding factor in attending Hopkins.</p>