<p>Where are all the safe campuses at? I.E. away from the big city crime?</p>
<p>Do you mean safe like at Kutztown (a rural college in PA) where a student was recently beaten to death by a group of young adults out for a night of drunken fun and frolic or an unsafe college like Temple, Penn and University of the Arts in Philadelphia where thousands of students enjoy all the resources of a major city every day with a very low percentage ever encountering street crime. In other words, don't buy into stereotypes. Did you know that most studies indicate that a college student is more likely to be a victim of campus crime than crime coming in off the streets from surrounding cities and towns? Common sense is the best protection from being a crime victim, not trying to avoid cities. If you don't want a city school for other reasons, that's fine but don't create a false sense of security by selecting schools in remote or rural areas.</p>
<p>Any campus is a safe campus if you use common sense.</p>
<p>Previous posters are correct--you can't go off of setting alone. And common sense goes a long way to keeping you safe.</p>
<p>Schools are supposed to publish crime statistics thanks to the Cleary Act. You ought to be able to find these stats on their websites. There is some debate about their thoroughness and honesty, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Forbes almost ran a story this spring on the top ten most dangerous college campuses in America, but pulled it for unclear reasons. Pomona College, a traditionally "safe" campus, was going to be in the top 10, apparently, but closer scrutiny of the Clery Act-mandated reporting revealed that 11 of the 13 "vehicle thefts" involved missing golf carts apparently stolen by students for joyrides around campus. <a href="http://www.tsl.pomona.edu/index.php?article=2444%5B/url%5D">http://www.tsl.pomona.edu/index.php?article=2444</a></p>
<p>I agree with above posts. I think to judge "safety" factor best is when you visit. Do they have blue lights and how does their "safe" ride program work. And ask students what safety measures the school has in place. Understandably we saw some urban campuses that had much better security than some rural campuses; however, campus crime/rapes can occur at city or rural schools. VA Tech also brought to the front burner how schools deal with emergencies on campus and what mental health support is available. Having had a gun incident in our very safe suburban HS makes you realize that gun crimes, etc. can and do happen any where. You want to get a feeling that the school is responsive and takes safety seriously regardless of the location of the school.</p>
<p>IPEDS COOL website has campus crime statistics</p>
<p>I suspect that if you looked at the actual statistical likelihood that a crime of any seriousness would happen to any particular student, that almost all college campuses would be safe by any reasonble measure.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Any campus is a safe campus if you use common sense.
[/quote]
Although I do agree that crime can happen anywhere (even, sadly, in Amish country), I think it's naive to say that "using common sense" automatically makes a campus safe. I know my school isn't as safe as it could be. I realized that coming in, and it wasn't a big factor.</p>
<p>-Duke had several armed robberies on Central Campus last year, including an attempted strangulation. A professor's son was found dead.
-Two JHU students were murdered in 2005.
-A Penn student was shot on campus coming back from a party.
-A Franklin & Marshall student was mugged and shot last year. </p>
<p>Most of these students practiced common sense. They weren't out late, they were mostly with other people, and they were on or near campus. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm not saying these schools are horribly dangerous and should be avoided, because they're not. The vast majority of students graduate without experiencing any problems at all. It's just that common sense isn't always enough nowadays.</p>
<p>Here's another place to look for crime statistics: <a href="http://ope.ed.gov/security/Search.asp%5B/url%5D">http://ope.ed.gov/security/Search.asp</a></p>
<p>While I agree that crime is a problem everywhere, I do think that certain cities are inherently more dangerous than others. When I was choosing a study abroad program, I rejected a program after getting this casual response from a student:</p>
<p>Melville Grove [student housing] was gated, and with good reason, and I never felt completely safe going out after dark. Prostitutes work the street directly opposite the entrance to the housing complex, and, well, I had a view to things going on in the library's delivery doors that I should not have.</p>
<p>Warbler: In terms of Hopkins, one incident was the result of a late night burglary, gone bad. The thief climbed into an open window in a fraternity house. The noise awakened a brother who was sleeping on a couch, and the young man jumped the robber, ending in tragedy. The fraternity house was several blocks off campus, and it has been secured since that tragedy. It is downright scary, but one must put it in perspective. You cannot leave your doors and windows unsecured, anywhere, small town, or big city.</p>
<p>The second incident also happened off campus. As I understand it, the criminal knew and targeted this poor young woman. Somehow he found access into her apartment. The details are sketchy for me, but I know that the criminal was apprehended, and sent to prison.</p>
<p>The bottom line is for everyone to watch his/her step anywhere and everywhere. Your parents send you off to school with a lot of warnings. Please try not to take them lightly. There were several brutal and frightening crimes committed in the areas throughout Pennsylvania surrounding Bucknell, Lehigh, and Muhlenberg, last year. At least a couple of them were broadcast on national TV. Sometimes we all tend to feel safest in the quiet areas, but often they can provide the seculsion for the commission of some of the most heinous incidents. </p>
<p>So again, young people...please be careful, everywhere, and don't assume that quiet means safe. Most heinous crimes in cities are committed at night, when the streets are the quietest and darkest. This emphasizes the foolhardiness of believing that rural areas provide the safest environments, for they always are the most secluded and provide lots of cover for someone with a criminal intent. </p>
<p>I think that one of the most important aspects of feeling comfortable at a college is to try and determine the level of security, and that school's committment to the security of its students. A student should be able to see that security as a functioning and integral part of the campus environment. Lots of schools tell you about their security, but somehow, when you go onto campus, or when you visit the dorms, it is just not visible. If you don't see it, assume that it is not omnipresent. Do not believe what you cannot see.</p>