<p>I have been talking to some of my fellow classmates recently and they complain that Yale is not the greatest place to go to college since New Haven is one of the most dangerous cities in the world.</p>
<p>Is is just them or is the city of New Haven a major safety problem that students should consider when choosing to apply to Yale?</p>
<p>and to correct myself, I meant the most dangerous in America and not the world although idk if it is or not</p>
<p>In my opinion, New Haven is a pit.</p>
<p>I was there for one day, and my car was broken into.</p>
<p>And it was a clunker, not a fancy car.</p>
<p>That being said, my brother’s son went there, and loved it.</p>
<p>But in general, if you had a choice between Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, or Yale, I would take a pass on Yale, because of its undesirable location. I suspect that over time, Yale will start to drop in the rankings for this reason. </p>
<p>If people like Yale, it is despite its location, as opposed to University of Wisconsin, where everyone loves the college town of Madison.</p>
<p>There must be a kabillion threads on this topic. Check the archives.</p>
<p>My kid took a pass on HP (didn’t apply to Stanford) and chose Yale. He found Princeton too bucolic, and decided against H for other reasons. Yes, OP, there are parts of NH that are not safe – that is true of every city. My kid actually likes the grit of New Haven, although students are certainly savvy about where and where not to venture. It’s a matter of common sense. Beyond the city of NH itself, the Yale campus itself is incredibly vibrant. Almost electric. For my son, no other campus compared. Visit and see for yourself.</p>
<p>^^ I concur with wjb. My son, who has been riding the subways of NYC by himself since he entered 6th grade, feels safer at Yale, than he does in parts of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens or Manhattan.</p>
<p>I don’t think New Haven has actually earned that dubious honor although there were quite a few violent crimes (far from Yale) in the last year or two. And no doubt there are parts of the city that students do not belong, but the area immediately around Yale is pretty nice and generally quite safe. By the way, to the poster who had his car broken into, that happens EVERYWHERE. I live in a perfect Southern California suburb and it happens here in peoples driveways all the time. No area is immune to car break-ins.<br>
My daughter is in her third year at Yale and absolutely LOVES everything about it, including New Haven. She turned down Harvard and Amhersttwo schools located in arguably less dangerous locales (although supposedly Cambridge has a higher crime rate). Like all cities, one must exercise good judgment and caution. I wouldnt reject Yale because of New Haven. If you were fortunate enough to be admitted you will have an extraordinary four years amongst some of the worlds greatest minds. What separated Yale from Harvard when my daughter was making her decision was how Yalies love their school. At Harvard, she never heard that sentimentonly that Harvard was amazingbut no love factor. The resources at Yale are remarkable as well. Its definitely a place for those who are intelligent, intellectual AND passionate. Good luck with your decision.<br>
By the way, I happened to catch this story about New Haven in today’s Boston Globe: Spring is More Than Just a Term in New Haven (hope this link works sometimes I mess up).</p>
<p>Trying again to post that Boston Globe story–Spring is More Than Just a Term in New Haven: [Spring</a> is more than just a term in New Haven - Arts - The Boston Globe](<a href=“Spring is more than just a term in New Haven - The Boston Globe”>Spring is more than just a term in New Haven - The Boston Globe)</p>
<p>BTW: Living in Manhattan, I’ve been mugged; my car was broken into three times; my bike stolen twice; my apartment robbed and once I had to duck from a barrage of bullets in a police sting operation. By comparison, the area around the Yale campus feels extremely safe.</p>
<p>My son grew up in a suburban, semi-rural area in a neighborhood that my friends jokingly call “Mayberry”, so he didn’t have a lot of big-city experience. Yet, like some other posters, he chose Yale over some other schools that are in quieter areas and he loves the vibrancy of New Haven and Yale. As a parent, I liked the area around Princeton, because it seemed “safer”, but he felt it was boring. Hopefully, he’s smart enough to stay away from the areas that are more crime-ridden; I’m pretty sure he and most of the other students are. I’ve had the opportunity to spend more time in New Haven over the past 2 years and have walked in the area around campus - even after dark - and have not felt unsafe or been the victim of a crime. The city actually has a lot going for it.</p>
<p>A friend of mine has a son at a school in South Carolina. Leaving a bar right near campus with a friend, he was jumped by a group of locals and the two were beaten for no reason at all - so badly that he needed facial surgery.<br>
Sadly, bad things can happen anywhere.</p>
<p>I’m a person who has spent my entire life, including schooling (Swarthmore, Stanford) in suburbia; my husband the same (Princeton, Stanford). Our daughter chose Yale, turning down both of our undergrad alma maters. We live reasonably close and have visited several times in the last year, and I completely concur with those who like New Haven. The area around Yale not only feels quite safe, but also feels fun and alive. Sure, you see some poor people around. Poor does not equal criminal. Life is like that. But our daughter loves her adopted city. And I’ve noted that on other threads that if you lumped the crime rate of East Palo Alto with Palo Alto (which is more or less equivalent to looking at all of New Haven’s crime rate to judge safety at Yale), Stanford wouldn’t look too safe. But for goodness sake, Stanford kids don’t tend to go to E. Palo Alto, and Yale kids don’t tend to go to the more dangerous parts of NH.</p>
<p>
Since the area around Yale has gotten better, not worse, I think this is unlikely.</p>
<p>As has been explained on a bunch of other threads, New Haven is a mid-sized, gritty city, with city problems. The area around Yale is reasonably safe for those who use common sense. You are more likely to have your bike stolen at Yale than at Princeton or Stanford–so lock up your bike. Safety is not a reason to decline to send your kid to Yale, unless your kid is unusually clueless.</p>
<p>I’ll just note that when we visited Princeton once, we witnessed a carjacking right on Nassau street across from the campus. I’ve never seen anything like that at Yale. Still, I recognize that it’s not very likely to happen in either place.</p>
<p>New Haven is still safer than every city in New Jersey</p>
<p>My 15 year old spent last summer on the Yale campus and loved it. Not for one minute did she feel in danger. She loved everything about it.</p>
<p>I wonder if the concerns are due to the expectations people have about smaller cities. You rarely hear people complain about NYC, Boston, LA, Chicago, or other large cities in terms of crime. It’s sort of expected. But when it happens in a smaller town, everyone gets so upset .</p>
<p>When we visited Yale and saw a homeless person on a bench, my son was bothered by it. I was stunned, since he travels to and from the large city we live near every week and walks past homeless people all the time. But in the shadow of Yale’s gorgeous architecture and bustling academia, the gritty reality of crime and poverty did not compute. </p>
<p>If my son were lucky enough to be accepted to Yale, I would not be worried about crime. I would be much more worried if he were in a large city.</p>
<p>the city is a dump with not much to do. we used to take trips to NYC or Boston to get away. most of the students don’t care b/c they’re always inside their room or the library studying.</p>
<p>At least Yale’s gorgeous. ;D</p>
<p>
This is baloney.</p>
<p>The truth is although it is a relatively cheap train into NYC the students don’t need to travel there for entertainment and I question how often that happens. With the 30 IM sports, over 15 A Cappella groups and multiple theater productions, not to mention the Master’s Tea’s, the reality is a Yale student does not have to travel far at all for culture or entertainment. ;)</p>
<p>Culture, schmulture, New Haven is the Connecticut and beyond go to place for college age/young adult night life, dining, and shopping. My teenage kids’ friends envy them for the coolness of living here rather than in their boring, greensward suburbs.</p>
<p>well, i’d encourage everyone to visit the campus to assess the social life, or lack thereof. yes, the plays and singing groups are nice; i even saw yo yo ma perform in one of the colleges with just a handful of ppl. but if you’re looking for the ‘typical’ college party scene, i’d look elsewhere. it’s an academic school full of high-achieving robots. at the time, you had to be 21 to enter any bar/club so we would go clubbing in new york. we also threw some of the biggest dances on campus. all that glitters is not gold. unfortunately for Yale, as a top tier school, it’s in one of the worst locations.</p>