<p>I want to go there for grad school and I heard it's incredibly dangerous...</p>
<p>I walk across campus alone at 2AM without being bothered.</p>
<p>As long as you don't go looking for trouble, you're fine.</p>
<p>It's pretty safe, yes. "Incredibly dangerous" is beyond gross exageration. My GF used to walk home alone from campus at 2am 2-3 times a week.</p>
<p>yeah...i heard that berkeley is not a great place..too...</p>
<p>Time to get some balls people. Entering grad. school and you are afraid to walk across a campus? What happens when you enter the real world...gasp...you might work in an urban setting. Something tells me though that if you are a grad student afraid of getting mugged, then you aren't the type to be out roaming the streets at 3 am, and thus, don't have to worry about any potential criminal activity. Would that be a fair assumption?</p>
<p>What're we comparing it to here? It's really fine, especially if you're smart (read - not stupid) and there are various things, such as the campus walking program, which can be used by students. </p>
<p>While crime does exist, Berkeley's "crime riddeness" is far overblown. </p>
<p>Good luck getting in for graduate school.</p>
<p>Very safe. The farther you go down Telegraph the crappier the neighborhood gets. But I have yet to be mugged or killed, and I walk around with a bulky wallet, so it must be alright.</p>
<p>TheDesertFox,</p>
<p>Berkeley is in an urban setting, so one should follow common sense precautions to avoid a bad situation - eg hitting the ATM at 2am while you are talking on a cell phone having just rolled out of a bar - may not be the best idea.</p>
<p>Most campuses have escort services, so that you don't have to walk alone at night if you don't want to. </p>
<p>If you troll the web a bit, you are likely to find crime statistics on Berkeley and the Campus. </p>
<p>Not sure what your source for 'incredibly dangerous' was, but perhaps if you had further facts or more specific concerns; we could help further</p>
<p>Muggings are actually very, very rare, but things like bike thefts or auto break-ins aren't. The biggest problem though is the wild fauna that roams the campus, particularly after dark:</p>
<p>hahahaha! thats the best thing i've seen all day!</p>
<p>omg where is that bear statue at?</p>
<p>just northeast of the football stadium.</p>
<p>The areas immediately around the campus are very, very safe at night. If you stray beyond, go at your own risk.</p>
<p>The southwestern corner of the city of Berkeley two miles away from campus is a bit unsafe. The rest of the city is pretty safe, and the area around campus is safe. Just southeast of campus (student ghetto) and northside are very safe.</p>
<p>The "ghettos" of part of Richmond and Oakland are very far from campus, you'd have to drive for miles to get there. The parts of Oakland that are close to campus are very nice high-end yuppie neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Looking at the stats, Berkeley's homicide, rape and aggravated assaults rates are actually lower than the national average, while the rate of robberies, car theft and burglaries are higher than the nat'l avg, but those figures would be even better if you focused on the areas that are closest to campus.</p>
<p>It's very, very unsafe here. I get mugged and robbed while walking to class on a semi daily basis. I was even hit with a rocket propelled grenade the other day, which I thought was weird until I realized the the freshman and the juniors had entered into a pretty serious guerilla war over who gets to hang out outside of Dwinelle Hall. Its gotten pretty bad lately. My Ochem teacher was found with his arms chopped off, wandering through the bears lair. As long as you carry a gun, wear some sort of flack jacket and are prepared to kill or be killed, your time at Cal should be fine.</p>