<p>Trinity College has a very beautiful campus, wonderful education and many things going for it, but the crime statistics are facts, not opinion, and Hartford is a very dangerous city. In 2008 there were 32 murders, 163 shootings, 74 rapes, 633 robberies and 798 aggravated assaults. Hartford in in the top 25 of dangerous cities. A city like NYC is MUCH safer than Hartford. Just do some research on the crime stats and then make your decision.</p>
<p>Hartford is not the greatest city ever. And yes parts of it are dangerous. But there is much more to hartford (and trinity) then the crime. Trinity is very active in the community and is making a strong effort to improve relationships. Hartford also provides Trinity students with a very unique opportunity. Being one of the only liberal arts school to be located in an urban area, Trinity students are among the only NESCAC students to be given wonderful internship opportunities during the academic year that might only be open to most students during the summers. I have found some of the best food I have ever had in Hartford as well. While the surrounding area does not offer much, the city as a whole offers plenty. Finally to say NYC is safer than hartford is not true. While parts of NYC are safe, there were still 523 reported murders there in 2008. As for schools in NYC, Colombia is located in Harlem and Fordham in the Bronx; two areas that are quite similar to hartford.</p>
<p>In reality, yes, Trinity does have a beautiful campus but the area around it is lacking. Anyone who says that “New York had 523 reported murders” and is comparing that to Hartford doesn’t live in Connecticut and doesn’t hear the horror stories every day on the news about what has happened in Hartford. While there is Blue Back Square (which might be some-what pricey but is hands down one of the best things that has happened to central CT) and Westfarms mall, there is not much otherwise offered. Yes, there’s the Science Center and the expensive and new XL Center and parts of down town Hartford actually aren’t extremely bad (there’s many buildings and that’s the main business district), Hartford overall isn’t exactly a “college” city. There are gangs and thugs on every street corner. I’m a born-and-raised Connecticut resident and have always feared something will happen to me when I walked through Hartford. It hasn’t been the media that has scared me, it has been driving around the area of Trinity and looking at the neighborhoods. I’ve been scared to leave my car in the parking lot at the XL Center for fear that some idiot that wants my gps will break in-and it has happened not only to myself but to many others on multiple occasions. No, I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen anywhere else, but security in Hartford isn’t the greatest. In regards to actually going out to the Wadsworth and Bushnell Park and the Bushnell itself- goodluck. Bushnell Park is a great place to be and the Bushnell is one of the best things Hartford has to offer as far as the arts are concerned, but they’re kind of out of the way. In regards to the Wadsworth-I’ve been there on numerous occasions and it gets old fast.
In my opinion, your education isn’t worth the safety risks of the neighborhood surrounding the campus. Yes, campus security might be decent, but this city still has much more crime than good in it.</p>
<p>Thank you sawahh14. We spoke with a number of people who actually live in CT and near Hartford. Your reply is very much like others we heard. Although our S applied - and recognizing it may not be fair to the college - my wife would not have agreed to let him attend Trinity. There were just too many other options without any safety concerns.</p>
<p>I am from Southern California and will be attending Trinity in the fall. I nearly chose not to apply to Trinity due to people’s complaints of the “hood” surrounding the campus. But let me assure you, safety concerns should not be a determining factor in attending Trinity of not. I am sure that the majority of the earlier posts regarding crime and safety concerns are coming from people who live in exclusively crime-free areas. Realistically, many incoming students do not come from that fairy tale environment and should therefore ease their worries. USC probably has the worst surrounding neighborhood of any major university in the country, but once again, it does not pose a problem as long as you use common sense to navigate the area. The actual campus is nestled on top of a hill and resembles a castle, I was highly impressed. I was expecting much worse upon my arrival to Hartford, and seeing that only a few street blocks are boarded up, I now know that only 5 minutes of driving away from the campus will reveal the true beauties of Hartford.</p>