<p>So I'm not sure if we have a thread on this - every time I tell someone I've applied to USC they tell me "OH NO THAT SCHOOL'S IN A REALLY BAD AREA." Can someone define bad area... because I'm from the NYC area and I doubt that it's actually "ghetto" around USC. </p>
<p>Thought.. Comments?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi englishphoto91 -- </p>
<p>The short answer is no. This question comes up a lot. Here a link to one of the threads on the subject:</p>
<p>You can see more threads by going to the University of Southern California forum, Search Forum Tools, and search for "ghetto" -- you'll get a lot of threads. Good luck!</p>
<p>The neighborhood surrounding USC is low income working poor. You're generally ok if you don't go too far south or east. Student who live west of campus in houses are mixed with residents of the community. The area north of campus enclosed by Vermont on the west, Adams on the north and Figueroa on the east is mostly student housing. Although there is crime, you're usually fine if you're not walking alone at 3am.</p>
<p>Here are a few old threads:</p>
<p>Also, here are some notes from a presentation by Steven Sample where he addresses some safety concerns:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/641412-just-saw-dr-steven-sample-usc-president.html?highlight=surrounding+area%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/641412-just-saw-dr-steven-sample-usc-president.html?highlight=surrounding+area</a></p>
<p>I visited USC in January and I too was worried it was in the ghetto, but the neighborhood wasn't that bad. Sure it isn't Westwood, where UCLA is, but it's not like there are crack houses, drug dealers, and prostitutes abound. Personally, I don't mind the neighborhood. As an LA native, I was used to being around middle class areas.</p>
<p>I went to USC in the early 80's and back then you didn't have to stray very far to be in a potentially unsafe area. The USC is in the Ghetto mind set seems to stem from the good old days.</p>
<p>A lot has changed since then and the areas surrounding the campus have drastically improved. USC has spent millions of dollars developing and upgrading the surrounding community and you definitely feel safe in what appears to be an ever expanding radius around campus.</p>
<p>USC is just adjacent to the LA Coliseum and there are several county museum buildings and millions have been spent to upgrade and build-up that whole complex.</p>
<p>The downtown LA area is a short distance from USC, including the Staples Center and this area has dramatically improved since I went to school there. The Figueroa corridor has been upgraded and as a result has attracted more money for development all around USC.</p>
<p>Like any major metropolitan area you need to know your boundries and the safe and unsafe areas to travel, especially at night or on your own. I personally never had any issues because I knew my safe zones.</p>
<p>USC is a major employer of the local surrounding community and the local residents love and protect the university. Also the city regards USC as a crown jewel of the city and the LAPD is very vigilent and very, very responsive to protecting the campus.</p>
<p>Let's face it USC is in the heart of one of the world's largest cities. That is what makes it a cool place. You just have to remember your boundries.</p>
<p>Fight On!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies!</p>
<p>You see, it is all about contrast. Generally, neighborhoods go from rich to middle class to poor without people noticing. However, when you put USC near anything that isn't middle class or better, it looks pretty damn ghetto. This goes for any school. I mean UCLA is ONLY 14 miles away. The only time 14 miles ever makes a difference is if you are talking about an actual border.</p>
<p>I've been going to USC for the past 7 years (not attending the school, but visiting for events and stuff) and I have to say that the area surrounding the school is pretty ghetto. I mean, it's not THAT bad, but I would never go grab a bite to eat past 10PM. They have EXCELLENT campus security, so if you spend most of your time on campus, you'll be fine.</p>
<p>yeah my mom wasn't too happy about me applying and shes supposedly not letting me go cuz its in a bad area of LA (and my only arguement was it's still LA so i'll live, and my friend lives there so i can even live with him... obv i lost that one lol)</p>
<p>After living in New Jersey, visiting Newark and driving through areas of public housing in Philadelphia and the south Bronx SC is not in the same category.<br>
SC is in a working class area. It is not Brentwood. However, after seeing other parts of the U.S. it is not anything like the areas mentioned above. SC is in an urban area, but so is Georgia Tech, Univ. of Pennsylvania, NYU and Univ. of Chicago. I would not recommend a single student walking alone in any of those off campus areas at night. Frankly, these days it is sometimes not a good idea to stroll in dark suburbs late at night. Unfortunately, this is a fact of modern life.
During EXplore the university sets up tours of surrounding areas. Parents are free to take the tours or drive around and make their own judgments.<br>
Campus crime is a nationwide problem. It is a problem at small rural colleges. There was a murder last fall in small Auburn, AL (It has one stoplight.) The freshman female was walking on campus in the evening. About two weeks later a senior female was killed just off campus at UNC.<br>
Many prominent residents of California send their children to SC, including the Governor of the State of California. Henry Winkler's son attends as does Mark Hammill's daughter.
Individuals must use common sense as any student should no matter where the college is located.</p>
<p>I agree with Georgia Girl that there are other colleges located in far worse urban locations.
I hear that the surrounding area is heavily Hispanic. They are good, hard working people.
The surrounding area is just not a college town like Boston. I think you should pick your school for academic and social fit and that the surrounding area is not the main reason to base your college decision on.</p>
<p>
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I mean UCLA is ONLY 14 miles away
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</p>
<p>It's not even that. It's ~14 miles if you take the 10/405 (which is the fastest way), but as the bird flies, its only ~10-11 miles away.</p>
<p>depends on where you’re from, ghetto is a relative word. the surrounding area around usc is definitely not nice, its low income and urban. Being raised in beautiful south orange county, when I first saw USC I totally thought this place was straight up ghetto. If you grew up in LA and are used to it you would know that, the city could be so much worse. LA in general is a pretty nasty city, Kobe Bryant doesn’t even live there because it’s a bad place to raise his kids. So yea I think USC is totally ghetto, it’s the kind of place where many stores have bars around the windows and homeless people live under the freeway bridge. This is pretty common for LA though, being a huge urban area. Some places in mexico are better than the area around usc. Tijuana and USC are actually pretty similar looking. When I went to mexico for the first time I thought “hey what’s so bad about this there are some places in los angeles that are totally worse than this.” </p>
<p>Sorry I’m ranting the gist is that the area around USC is not pleasant, it’s not outright gangster territory either, but I would definitely not want to live there. There are too many poor people and the buildings, roads, and sidewalks are all old and ugly. If you want a nice surrounding in SoCal try UCI or UCSD</p>
<p>Four year old thread… </p>
<p>Hysterical that you created a screen name and dredged up a four-year old thread just to rant about USC.</p>
<p>Well living in “beautiful” south Orange County too I can tell you that I think your rant is a VERY over the top. Sorry I don’t hold your “racist” point of view and I actually think the Victorian, historic homes in the West Adams area around USC and the campus’ collegiate architecture are actually far more beautiful than the endless parking lots, mini-malls and ugly tract homes that constitute the OC. Furthermore, the area around USC has LOTS to offer–bars, clubs, restaurants, shops. It’s a REAL neighborhood and it’s literally 10 minutes from Staples Center, Nokia Theater, LA Live, the artist district, and the Music Center/Grand Park. With the Expo metro line now open you don’t even need a car to take advantage of any of these attractions. While any urban area is not 100 percent safe, I have walked around the USC campus at night and have NEVER felt threatened or unsafe. If you take common-sense approaches to safety, you’ll be perfectly fine. I certiantly don’t walk around Irvine, Mission Viejo or Laguna Beach at midnight either for fear of my safety! Most of the people that live in the neighborhoods around USC are upstanding working class folks. Please don’t bad mouth them and the USC neighborhood just because it’s beautiful historic buildings and low income neighbors do not mirror the ridiculous and boring whitebread, cookie-cutter culture of the OC.</p>