<p>Even though crime does tend to peak in the summer (I have no stats available but I can only imagine that summer is the worst for crime), she'll be surrounded by other college students taking college courses and working in the neighborhood. I would say half of my friends are staying on campus this summer, living in area apartments that they either rented for the year or subletted from somebody else.</p>
<p>You know about street smarts, and you know that a taking the risk of an urban neighborhood is sometimes worth the potential for happiness. It's certainly worth it for me-- I would rather be at UChicago, even given my precautions, than I would at a place where I didn't have to worry so much. Make sure your daughter knows what's up and knows not to travel alone and to keep her eyes out for anything out of place. Make sure she doesn't wear ipods when she walks by herself (students do this, and it's ridiculously stupid-- they feel safe) and that she minimizes distractions.</p>
<p>"If D does want to do a summer program in UChicago, we will have to think hard about it. Thanks for all the feedback and please correct me if my conclusion is incorrect."</p>
<p>Where are they housing the kids for the program?</p>
<p>CRD,
[quote]
Getting back to my original question, and taking into account my new calibration - people here who lived near Penn at a time that I felt was too unsafe and they thought was safe enough - it seems to me that the conclusion to draw is that Hyde Park today is not as safe as West Philly was during the time my wife went to Penn in the early 90's. That means our initial impression of Hyde Park was perhaps far too rosy and that is unfortunate.
[/quote]
This strikes me as one tortured bit of logic. I think you are overanalyzing and overcomparing waaaay too much.</p>
<p>That said, speaking as a parent, if you have the slightest bit of concern, DON'T do it. It is not worth the anxiety you will have. You know urban environments and the importance of situational awareness. And only you know your kid. So follow your gut. And HS kids are not college kids either. What the other posters have not mentioned is all the education and mutual support that goes on during those first few weeks of freshman year that helps the new collegians to understand the "rules". </p>
<p>And beyond safety, Hyde Park is pretty quiet in the summer. There may be better places for a summer program.</p>
<p>I wouldn't hesitate to send my daughter to Hyde Park for the summer.
I, too, am taken aback by the West Philly stories. I visited Penn last fall with my daughter, and while I thought the immediate area was charmless, it didn't look particularly unsafe.
I lived in Hyde Park from 1982-1984, and again from 1994 until now. I would say that the area is as safe as I've seen it, due to general prosperity, the end of the crack epidemic, and long prison sentences. Hyde Park and adjoining Kenwood are affluent. The poor surrounding areas have been slowly depopulated by taking down public housing and empty/underused buildings.
I've lived in New York and Boston in the past so I have some basis for comparison. I wouldn't behave any differently in Hyde Park than I would in 90% of New York or Boston.
I think summer programs tend to have some adult supervision, no? Plenty to do in Chicago during the summer.
Whoever said "don't fear Hyde Park, fear the core" was on to something. All the students who have died since I've lived here have perished at their own hand.</p>
<p>The high school students are housed in Max Palevsky, the most convenient and safest commuting dorm on campus. There are also RA's (current college students) living among the high school students and I'm sure they are part of integrating social life and city life into the program.</p>
<p>NB: My parents went to Penn in the mid-70's, my mother to Yale in the early 80's. Neither was particularly pleased with HP, but their having chosen schools regardless of surrounding neighborhoods in their past made it easier for them to ship me off to Chicago. The only comparison they made between HP and West Philly was that Hyde Park was "sleepier." Even during the academic year, there isn't necessarily the hustle and bustle of a typical college town.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would ask the question again on the summer programs section, and get views from hs students who have actually done the program.</p>
<p>This UChicago thing is way off in the future, if at all, so of course if D wants to go there precollege, it will depend on where D is maturity wise and how streetwise she becomes. </p>
<p>We just happened to be there this weekend since she's at Northwestern. We were curious, and I mean really, how often do we get to Chicago and even then, it takes some effort to get to Hyde Park. We were pleasantly surprised to find it as nice as it was because I've seen comparisons to Penn before on this board and - no disrepect to other's views - we personally did not like the neighborhood around Penn when my wife was a grad student - that murder of a grad student JHS mentioned and the frequent muggings of my wife's colleagues clearly jaded our view. </p>
<p>As crazy as it seems, its been very helpful to put it into a context that we're familiar with because, really, how else can we assess. The responses here have been very helpful in that regard. </p>
<p>I think we'll let D get her city street smarts in Boston or Camridge where either Mom or Dad is minutes away instead of 1000 miles away and if she wants to go to UChicago precollege in the future we'll see where she's at when the time comes. At least we won't have to visit again and will know something about what's involved.</p>