Here is my question: How safe is Peabody? Do people feel trapped on campus because leaving campus is unsafe? Basically, how have the current troubles in Baltimore affected campus life?
Background: I have lived in several major US cities (NYC, DC, Atlanta – and several not-so-major where the crime and poverty rates were relatively high) and there’s really no city I would hesitate to visit, or feel unsafe to live in (even if there might be places I’d avoid alone at night). I’m encouraging D to put schools in many major cities on her shortlist, including Peabody.
However, this article last week in the NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/magazine/baltimore-tragedy-crime.html) gave me pause about Baltimore. What alarmed me most were the comments: I ignored all the negative comments that seemed to have a political agenda, and focused on the comments from people who seemed to know and love Baltimore, and there was not a single one who said the article was wrong, or hype, or fearmongering. Even the people who loved Baltimore painted a fairly scary and bleak picture.
My understanding is that JHU and Peabody have excellent campus security, so my guess is that students are pretty safe on campus. (And in fact, I saw that a number of other campuses in Maryland have much worse crime stats – so it sounds like the school is doing a great job). My question is whether students are more or less “stuck” on campus because they don’t feel comfortable out and about in the city… and/or if they ARE stuck, it’s a problem. Do they feel constrained? Does it affect their college experience? Peabody is probably still on the short list because it is an amazing school, but I’d like to go into application season this fall with some first-hand information from current families.
D is a student at Peabody Prep. While she does not live on campus, we know the area very well. If you head toward the inner harbor on Charles, things are pretty safe, There is a lot to do in that direction. You do not want to go far in any other direction. There are muggings around the building. Security can give you a complete log of all the incidents. I would not go out alone at night (especially for a female). My car has been broken into on campus property 3 times n the last 5 years.
Bumping this back up on the list… I’d love to hear from additional folks who are familiar with Peabody and have some info to share about the environment. Especially if you love it there – but we’ll take whatever you’ve got, good or bad!
Hi… we live about 15 minutes south of Peabody (close to the Inner Harbor). My daughter has been in the preparatory for the past nine years and my son was recently admitted for class of 2023. We love Baltimore and I am very familiar with the area. During the daytime, the Mount Vernon neighborhood where Peabody is located is fine (not great, but I wouldn’t say dangerous). There are lovely shaded green spaces with water fountains across the street and along the side of the building, an art museum, and historic mansions. Baltimore’s performing arts high school is down the street, too. It’s very quiet. In the evenings and on weekends, many families bring their children in and out of the building for classes. However, the area can be a little sketchy, too. We’ve seen some interesting characters (for lack of a better word) roaming around on a regular basis, muttering to themselves. I have heard about muggings. While I have not witnessed or experienced anything horrible, you do get the sense of an “element”. My daughter is 13 and I would not let her leave the building without me. College age would be fine, but I still think students would want to stick together. Overall, Baltimore is a great city. Mount Vernon is beautiful. But the surrounding areas, not so much. You just have to be smart about where to go and where to avoid.
I have had similar thoughts as my son is trying to make his final decision about whether or not to accept his Peabody offer. He was also admitted to many other excellent and prestigious conservatories and music schools in NYC and Boston. I really can’t answer about students’ feelings on being “stuck”. They would need to weigh in on that. But the students my son has been in touch with seem to be very happy there with the instruction and opportunities.