<p>sorry, ohmom, i never ventured east of Columbia. maybe it was fine but I thought that was Harlem and I seem to remember people telling me to not go too far east. I did ride a bus sometimes on the north end of Central Park after dark and it did not look “that” bad. However, the area north of Temple was worse than anything i saw when I peered east of Columbia. it was pretty rough looking and another time, we took a drive from the north Philly suburbs south bound on Broad Street cause I wanted to scout the dreaded North Philly region for myself. again, rough. plus i got on the subway just north of Temple and that station was pretty d… scary. Worse than anything I’d ever seen waiting on a NYC subway. Kid thought subway station was ok. I did not. and as I noted above, the subway stop at Temple (Cecil B. Moore stop?) was fine. I did not mean to insult Columbia, NYC, or you with my comments. My point was more that on Columbia, you can venture safely off campus without an armed guard even though it’s considered to be next to a “bad” area by outsiders. Given that Temple is surrounded by a number of rough areas, I am more concerned about kid’s safety off campus at Temple than I would be at Columbia. That being said, he is sold on Temple and the conversations i have suggest he’ll be safe enough so long as he is careful and that although it can be dangerous, it’s nowhere near as dangerous as its reputation if one is careful. Also, i did not comment on north of Columbia cause I’ve never been there. i said not to go east. I made no comment on north whatsoever. I have a friend who used to live on the Manhatten/Bronx Border on the super north end of Manhatten cause he got a great deal on rent and that’s all i know about it. The food trucks at Temple are supposed to be delicious.</p>
<p>It is in fact Harlem. Not a high crime area despite the popular perception. And as Columbia will tell you in their info session, that particular police precinct is the safest in the whole city :)</p>
<p>So the food trucks stay?</p>
<p>Yes, food trucks are supposedly open M-F. We visited on a Friday and they were in session!!! and from the people giving Temple tours, that’s the best food!!! Temple is very proud of its police presence too for the other folks. Since u likely tackle criminals with your bare hands having grown up in a “dicey” area ;), ur kid should be fine but us non-urban folk will be happy to know Temple has a big police force to help keep the kiddos safe :)</p>
<p>That’s great. I really wanted to try several of them. Are they on the meal plan with flex dollars or something?</p>
<p>I read an article about Temple’s new dorm recently…it was a little snarky, about how expensive it is and how you can connect right to that “good” subway station without having to go out into the neighborhood at all.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments. My husband is a Bronx native and a NYC Firefighter and his house is first due at Fordham University… he said that if d wanted to go there, she’d have to plan to not venture off campus. The zoo and the botanical gardens are nearby, but even the area surrounding Arthur Avenue has changed a lot. </p>
<p>We were in Philadelphia for several days for a convention (stayed at the Loews hotel near the market) and in walking to dinner or shops and such, I didn’t like the city at all… but we shall see. I never feel unsafe in NYC, but in Philly I was nervous. </p>
<p>I’m not hearing anybody say their student chose NOT to attend, based on the neighborhood. That makes me feel a little better. Thanks again!</p>
<p>This is a very good discussion, particularly about the safety at Temple. </p>
<p>We toured in late Oct., and my daughter was accepted afterward, while we were driving to the hospital. We all really liked the campus. A security officer on a bike checked in with us while we were looking at the campus map. A student walked up to us to see if we had any questions, while we were walking. Our drive to the hospital took us through some pretty bad neighborhoods. But, there is both subway and bus transportortation to the hospital. My daughter really likes Temple. My husband is bringing her back next week, to check out the subway/bus ride to the hospital, sit in on a class, and some other items. Thanks to everyone for providing such great information.</p>
<p>is she a premed student or in nursing? Agreed, it’s bad between the main campus and the hospital. is there a Temple shuttle between the 2? I guess it;s only 2 stops on the subway, maybe 3, since they are close. id ask Temple students if the subway is a safe option after dark to head up there. For everyone else, the hospital is north of campus and it’s bad between main campus and the hospital. and ctreel, i think Temple is worse than the area surrounding Fordham used to be. however, since it’s gone down by Fordham, i’m not sure anymore. if i can think of a comparable area in NYC, i;ll let you know.</p>
<p>She’s been accepted into nursing. Yes, there is a shuttle. My husband thought they’d look into both the shuttle and subway. That is a great suggestion, to ask a Temple student about the safety of the subway ride to the hospital. We’ll add that to the list! In October, before her tour, we stayed overnight (not near Temple) and had some wonderful meals and walks through the city. I think Philly is a great city, with a lot to do. I want to have a better understanding about the area surrounding the school. She’s grown up in a small town, outside of some big cities. It will be a change for her - she really likes the urban feel of the campus. And we will be back again on Feb. 15.</p>
<p>Hi all - thought I’d jump in with some Philly experience. My D is applying to Temple (Boyer College of Music) this year & it is currently her #1 choice. </p>
<p>Hubby and I (native Southern Californians) lived in Philly for about 6 years & D was born there. I did outreach for the Philly zoo & drove to elementary schools all over the city, including North Philly & even Camden, NJ right across the river, which has a (deservedly) very bad reputation. I never felt nervous in the daytime anywhere I went. Night would have been a different story, but I did not do outreach at night. As far as I can tell, there’s not much reason for Temple students to be walking around North Philly at all. There’s plenty to do on or right off campus, and they can jump right on the subway at Cecil B. Moore station to get to Downtown, South Street, Manayunk or the other lively areas of the city. For Boyer students, we hear anecdotally that they enter the music building in Fall & don’t come out until Spring, lol, so I guess they stay busy on campus.</p>
<p>Philly is a FABULOUS city with so much history, excellent food & interesting neighborhoods. Plus a short train ride to NYC or Wash DC.</p>
<p>Hey parents! I know I have been posting a lot on these boards lately, but a few people have unboxed me to after my thread has been closed. At first I was hesitant to go to temple due to the surrounding area, but I feel that people don’t realize that campus is actually real safe as long as you use common sense. During the daylight, I have not had a problem yet. At night, Never walk alone to guarantee safety.
General Philly tips
- Never use a cell phone or headphones
- Pay attention to your surroundings.
- Trying walking in groups at night.
- Studying til 2am in the library? Use the night loop shuttle to your dorm
- If you feel like you are danger, contact temple police. They are the second largest police force in PA</p>
<p>Thx future doc. All great tips. And please keep posting.earing from actual students is great!</p>
<p>Thanks FutureDoc. Good advice on paper, but I don’t know a single college student who wouldn’t talk on their phone (more like text, lol) or use headphones while walking across campus… if that “typical behavior” truly would put a student in danger, for this mom, that’s a big check in the “con” column…</p>
<p>I’d think on campus it’d be fine, and off-campus, not. Any reasonably street smart college kid walking around ANY city should know better than to wear headphones or mess with an expensive smartphone. That just makes them a target, whether they are strolling on streets around UPenn or Harvard, or the ones around Temple.</p>
<p>yeah, i would not text off campus. Hopefully, my kid has enough sense not to. agreed that on campus should be fine, esp during the day. might get hit by a bike but that’s why u don’t walk and text ;)</p>
<p>And i think gertrude mcfuzz, great name BTW, gave a great summary on Philly</p>
<p>windowmom, we’ll be there Feb 15th too. As i think i noted above, i’d take school shuttle between main campus and the hospital. I would not walk it, even in daytime, and I’d ask other students, about safety of subway and does that safety depend on time of day? so first choice is shuttle and if other kids say it’s safe, second choice is subway. </p>
<p>Although i feel kid will be fine on campus, having him venture off campus, and we all know he and the other kids will, still makes me nervous. Current students, any input on my last sentence. thanks.</p>
<p>ctl987, thank you for the tip about shuttle and subway - it’s a good one. My D can ask some of the upper level nursing students about the safety, since she will be sitting in on a nursing class. I will need to call Temple, though, to see if they can ride the shuttle without being students. They definitely do not have plans to walk it. The nursing clinicals will require her to leave campus, so this is definitely a topic on which we need a lot more information. Also, we’ve been checking out the Amtrak stations, and the routes to school from them. One requires walking, and the other requires a subway trip. Very interested to hear any information about that.</p>
<p>Are you and your son going back for another tour? It will be a cold day! Hope you have a productive time there. I’d appreciate any information you get while on campus. I will share the information they bring home. Stay warm!</p>
<p>subway to amtrack station would be fine. or if she wants to pay more money, there is regional rail station 1 to 2 blocks east of campus. there is a guard at that end of the campus and another one from what i was told at the actual regional rail station. from what i understand, that is also safe, in fact very safe. And it may** be more convenient to get to Amtrak station depending on her luggage cause it’s less stops. </p>
<p>We’re going for admitted students day on Feb 15th but are going to get there on the 13th, he is going to sit in on classes, and we’ll see the Temple production of MacBeth Friday night. if u have other questions, ask away.</p>
<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>My daughter was just accepted and was offered the Presidential Scholarship. We visited the school the day after her email that she was admitted so we were not sure about the scholarship. the admissions counsellor went to check for her and announced to everyone that she had received the scholarship. All the Temple students clapped and wished her well. It was a proud moment for me! We enjoyed the tour, but it was pretty cold and the students were not back yet so we are looking forward to what it will be like on the 31st when we go to talk to her intended major - Hospitality and tourism management. I want to learn more about the honors program and the summer stipend also.
The area around the school is not a nice area, but the campus seemed really safe and very separated from those areas. We live about 30 minutes from the campus and I do not hear of much about crime on any of the 4 major Philly college campuses. You do have to be street smart anywhere you go. We have talked to many current students and I was impressed with how many say they Love it at Temple. That and the scholarship make Temple a “no brainer” for us.</p>
<p>followup:
@ctl987
I actually check my smartphone or listen to music while walking to class from the library. The advice is recommended during the night time and/or when walking on the edge of campus. It might seem logical, but many people actually think they are on the safest place on earth when they are in rough neighborhoods on the edge of campus. However, while ON CAMPUS, I have never felt endangered.</p>
<p>DS got his acceptance email from Tyler today! He still needs to hear from the 5 other schools he applied to but Tyler is one of his top choices. Will he find out about scholarships in the information they’re sending him?</p>