I had ruled out University of Chicago entirely due to my perceived safety concerns. I am aware of a student a couple years ago who was riding the train back to campus when he was killed by a random bullet. Can someone give me their perspective on actually how dangerous the surrounding area is?
Everyone has a different tolerance for living in urban areas, and the sometimes related crime and safety issues. Below are links to U Chicago’s daily incident reports, safety tips/resources, and annual Clery report.
Like any urban area, there is crime around UChicago. Chicago has had recent issues with gun violence as well. Some areas around campus are gentrifying, others not so much.
IMO one needs to be aware of their surroundings, like on any urban campus. I know students there who have taken ample opportunity of using safety escorts, anytime after dark (which is 4:30 in the winter).
There is also a major medical center adjacent to campus, which brings many people to the area every day.
I don’t know how the crime in the area compares to other urban campuses (often noted for relatively high crime) like JHU, Xavier, UCB, U Mich, or Ohio State…but you can do that research as all schools must release a Clery Report each year.
Daily Incident Report:
Safety Resources:
https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/safety-resources
Annual Clery Report:
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I went to UChicago approximately 10 years ago, and I had never felt unsafe in areas immediately adjacent to the campus and North of Midway. I stayed in Hyde Park for much of my time and stuck with areas most frequented by students (restaurants and stores on 53rd, 55th, and 57th). Whenever I headed downtown, I simply hopped onto the #6 express bus, which drives along Lakeshore Drive. The University also offers the Downtown Campus Connector shuttle now.
When I was an undergrad, I did a lot of volunteering South of the Midway. I walked there without feeling unsafe before sunset. After sunset, I utilized UChicago’s shuttle services. You can find more information about the shuttle services here.
The University also offers Lyft Ride Smart program starting on July 1st.
I hope these services put your mind at ease, at least a bit.
Recent student deaths are very unfortunate, but exceedingly rare and always off campus. No students were hurt while I was there or during the years preceeding it.
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I have always considered the safety issue as a screen for whether you are able to (a) take in the rarity of the danger; (b) weigh the danger against the benefits; and (c) find something inherently interesting in the experience of living in such an environment. UChicago isn’t for everyone, both academically and experientially. These are not bugs but features. NU is always available for the faint of heart.
My 15 year old just spent 3 weeks at UChicago as part of their summer immersion program. Those kids had A LOT of freedom (more than this mom was expecting or ready for but that is a different topic!)
The area right around the campus is terrific. Cute restaurants and shops, it did not feel unsafe. He went to dinner with his buddies, walked around, took the bus to downtown and Chinatown. He also heard about “O block” and when I looked on a map, it’s certainly not far from campus. But he never went there and it seemed easy to avoid.
It helps to have urban awareness and to enjoy the diversity and the energy of a city, but I would have no problem sending either of my children there.
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Living in the city of Chicago I have known tons of families sending their kids there. No problem but these kids are city aware taking busses /trains to high school. The area is well protected with their own security and Chicago Police. But you can just walk around and feel safe. Bad things happen all over the world and major cities. Definitely visit and see if it feels right to you.
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99% of students at U Chicago stay on for their sophomore year.
Google any university in the country and the word “murder.” You’re welcome 
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Note that much of the risk of crime at a residential college campus is college / student related, as in students getting drunk at parties and exercising poor judgement (getting into fights or reckless sexual activity) or becoming easy victims for predatory criminals (particularly rapists).
But also note that colleges with lots of students who grew up in high SES areas with low crime may be targeted by thieves who know that such students are often careless about locking doors and keeping watch over their stuff.
Neither of the above is unique to University of Chicago.
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My daughter spent two summers interning at U Chicago. She was fine there, however, she also grew up on the Chicago area and is pretty familiar with the rules of living in a big city. Hyde Park itself, is, overall, no more dangerous than the areas around any of the urban colleges in the USA, and safer than most. However, it is close to some pretty rough neighborhoods.
I find this extreme focus on Crime In Chicago to be pretty interesting. There are at least nine cities with major and popular universities in them that have higher murder rates than Chicago, yet these cities have, perhaps, one thread on CC asking specifically about safety. Aside from multiple comments, there are, since 2015, at least eight separate threads specifically asking “is it dangerous to live in/visit/drive through/look through a binoculars at Chicago?”
I mean, there are only two such thread in that period asking about St Louis, and one asking specifically about safety in Atlanta. Both of these cities have higher rates of murder and violent crime than Chicago, yet there is a lot less hysteria about safety by parents of applicants to colleges in these cities, and far fewer comments by posters writing things like “I would never live/let my kid study there, because it’s so dangerous”.
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I expect the focus is due to three well publicized student murders in the last few years (only one in close proximity to campus, one in east hyde park, one on the L train).
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As I wrote, there are eight such threads since 2015, so this obsession goes a long way back. But yes, “well publicized” is the key term. Murders in Chicago are a lot more publicized than those on many other cities. That includes murders on and around Chicago campuses.
Looking through murder reports of college students who were murdered on or in the same city in which they attended college finds that, in the past five years, there were any number of these. Few, if any, got more than local coverage.
It’s not a College Confidential obsession with Crime In Chicago, but something which is on a national level.
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Well said Marlowe, MWolf and Knowsstuff. Mark me down as another parent whose kid spent 5 years at UChicago with no incidents. In fact, one time she lost her wallet by the lakefront, and it was returned - including the cash! That said, all the precautions mentioned here are wise. Chicago has its problems, but I think it is unfairly singled out by the press, considering all the other cities which have higher murder rates.
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2021 was an incredibly tragic but exceedingly rare year for the UChicago community. However, just to put in context how rare these events are, a UChicago student’s death in Kenwood in 2008 was first such incident since 1977. To my recollection, no such incidents had happened until 2021.
Obviously every death is tragic. We are talking about four deaths (excluding the student who died on the Green Line – not really sure what the University could do about it) in almost 50 years.
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I don’t disagree with the rarity. But it’s reasonable for people to ask about safety if they’re considering the school…urban living isn’t for all students. And many students don’t really understand what urban living is like.
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It’s one of the paradoxes of American life that, unlike Europe, the metropolitan centers that are so integral a part of international finance, diplomacy, trade and commerce depend almost entirely on young adults who, by and large, have spent the better part of their lives avoiding them or, at best, viewing them as exotic places best visited in a humvee.
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The national press hasn’t been kind. Hundreds of kids loading the L and going downtown to create havoc doesn’t bold well.
Many don’t know about the Museum of Contemporary art and their free Jazz series on Tuesdays that every type of person from Chicago goes to. Tuesdays on the Terrace - MCA Chicago
Or the court theater on the UChicago campus https://www.courttheatre.org/
There will always be problems on campuses regardless of location. Northwestern has their recent issues as well.
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My daughter is a third year and has had no issues in Hyde Park, and neither have any of her friends. We are from a small town in the south, so I was a bit nervous sending her across the country to a big city. She loves every bit of her experience.
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Is it safe to take the Green Line to the Cottage Grove station during the day? I’ve seen mixed messages on TripAdvisor about it, and recommendations to take the bus or ME train instead. I’ll have a pass for the CTA and will be staying near the Green Line in West Loop, so was planning to use that.
I have never been to University of Chicago. I am wondering if it is in a “rougher” part of the city relative to other college campuses?
OP, I wonder if it would be helpful to compare to other urban campuses you may be familiar with.
For example, how would it compare to say, U of Washington in Seattle or Cal in Berkeley? What about NYU? Or Temple?
Large cities are, well, large. A campus in one area may feel a lot safer than one a few miles away.
We have an upcoming AMA with UChicago reps. You may want to post any questions you have to them directly: Last Minute EA/ED Insider Tips - Exclusive ASK ME ANYTHING w/ U. Chicago on Mon, Oct 23 from 8-9pm ET
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