<p>Family friend who lives in LA and trying to be 'helpful' was telling my parents that SD is not really the safest campus for a young freshman due to the proximity to Tijuana. Any comments?</p>
<p>the two places are 30 miles away, with heavily populated areas in between. never in my 5 years there was there ever a concern.</p>
<p>you could also use the argument that ucsd has lots of asians and asian parents are frequently paranoid and overprotective … so by default, ucsd is safe enough =)</p>
<p>(i thought berkeley was more dangerous)</p>
<p>La Jolla is secluded and ridiculously safe. You can walk around campus here at 2 am and feel safe (and that’s saying a lot b/c I’m a girl). The only problems (theft, etc) that occur on ALL college campuses involve locals. Tijuana is a lot farther away than it seems.</p>
<p>Strong peer pressure to go down to Tijuana and run into trouble was also mentioned to my parents.</p>
<p>One thing that surprises me is the apparent frequency if car break-ins at the off campus apartments. Is that true? Also, someone on the boards said the campus is totally safe but you are likely to get mugged directly off campus. That seems odd for La Jolla. Really?</p>
<p>UC San Diego does not get affected whatsoever by the fact Tijuana is just across the border…</p>
<p>As Astrina states, Berkeley tends to be alot more dangerous. I could be mistaken but I heard it’s between the like 6th and 7th most dangerous cities.</p>
<p>“You’re likely to get mugged directly off campus”? This is not USC people. It’s La Jolla. Of course there have been incidents but you’ll have that on any campus. If you practice common sense there are generally no problems.</p>
<p>For me… I have had no peer pressure to go to Tijuana… in fact I haven’t found one person yet who is willing to go. It’s too dangerous. Perhaps other people have had different experiences with peer pressure though.</p>
<p>“Also, someone on the boards said the campus is totally safe but you are likely to get mugged directly off campus. That seems odd for La Jolla. Really?”</p>
<p>That WOULD be really odd for La Jolla. Honestly La Jolla is the weirdest place for a college campus because it’s mainly older people. Sounds like a stereotype, but it’s 100% true. There are older people and college students in this city.</p>
<p>Obviously, no city is completely safe and there are occasional robberies and whatnot (my friend had her laptop stolen out of her car at El Torito where she works), but I personally haven’t had any problems. Lock your door, don’t keep valuables in plain sight in your car, and pay attention when you walk around and you’ll be fine - this is all just common sense stuff that applies anywhere you live.</p>
<p>Only time you will be forced into Tijuana is through Frat Hazing lol…</p>
<p>having been born and raised in San Diego, I can say that La Jolla has to be one of the safest areas in the greater San Diego area (there is no ghetto part of La Jolla). Anyone concerned about safety shouldn’t be. If a student goes to other areas of San Diego, then safety can be a concern, but those areas are few. Just ask a San Diego native what areas to stay clear of, and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I don’t think that I’ve ever been on a school campus that has felt safer. And, as mentioned, the off-campus areas of La Jolla and Del Mar are fine. You’re more likely to be hit by someone driving a luxury car than you are to be mugged. </p>
<p>TJ is a LONG way from UCSD – you have to go through La Jolla and the beach communities, through downtown San Diego, and then through the border communities. It isn’t something students do on a real frequent basis. </p>
<p>If you go looking for trouble you can probably find it anywhere, but I’d suspect that you’d have to look longer and harder at UCSD than you would on most college campuses.</p>
<p>ucsd has to be one of the safest campuses in the entire state. La Jolla is probably the safest part of San Diego (it’s basically a lot of rich residents, combined with a resort-like atmosphere). ucsd also has its own police force, like most large universities. </p>
<p>As for Tijuana - it’s on the OTHER SIDE of downtown San Diego… La Jolla is pretty much as far away from Tijuana as you can get while still being in the San Diego area. San Diego State and the University of San Diego are both closer. And proximity to Mexico shouldn’t really be that big of a concern, anyway. If you’re worried about the recent drug cartel violence, or whatever your concern is, just don’t go there.</p>
<p>From a parent perspective - I agree with all the posters here - UCSD and its surrounding area is considered very safe because it’s in an upscale area. TJ has no more influence on it than it would have on UCLA (i.e. - none). Peer pressure only has influence if you allow it but there are plenty of students at UCSD who never go to TJ. By the time one is in college peer pressure diminishes.</p>
<p>Regarding cars getting broken into in the apartment areas and shopping areas (i.e. Ralphs) - this happens although it’s most likely just because of the target rich environment - i.e. trusting college students who have expensive aftermarket stereos in their cars along with stacks of CDs, backpacks, laptops, iPods, portable Nav units, etc. all in plain view.</p>
<p>My kid never had any problems with her car getting broken into but nothing was ever left in plain view and the car only had the stock radio. Another student had an expensive aftermarket but was diligent in taking the faceplate off when parked and had no problems. Another student had the the expensive radio and had it ripped off in the shopping parking lot but it was in plain view screaming to be stolen. Just exercise common sense and don’t be complacent or overly trusting.</p>
<p>I live in South Bay San Diego. The ghettoest part of SD. I am 5 minutes away from the border.</p>
<p>And La Jolla is the safest part of SD than any other part.</p>
<p>Trust me, if you want to see “unsafe,” i can show you where!</p>
<p>What ^ said! Don’t be stupid and put things in plain view. It’s not that we are near the border that causes this “unsafe” atmosphere, other factors are included.</p>
<p>People are greedy, when they see somethign expensive, the petty thieves will of course steal it.</p>
<p>Just hide your thigns in your car that is out of view and nothing will happen.</p>
<p>Honestly, the only danger I see in La Jolla is maybe one of the elderly people forgot their glasses at home and are driving.</p>
<p>After that, I could not feel safer. I stayed the night with a friend a few days ago, and honestly, I felt so safe that when I couldnt sleep at night, I just went on a walk around the campus (at 3 am).</p>
<p>Okay, certainly not bashing UCSD - this was my first choice and I got in pretty much everywhere I applied. But the quote that confused me actually came from Astrina on another thread:</p>
<p>“… wander the campus at 3 am and feel totally safe. here, 3 am means a $15 taxi ride back to my apartment because chances are you will get mugged (or at the very least, harrassed) on your walk back home.”</p>
<p>^Astrina goes to Columbia now. NYC is a completely different story, and that is what she is referring to.</p>
<p>aww, i’m flattered that you remember i’m living in the ghetto (crammed into a lovely pocket of manhattan between harlem and the bronx) :)</p>
<p>Hahahaha hellooo! you are #1 contributor on the board and provide me with laughs every so often. Of course I know like your whole story!</p>
<p>ucsd is in la jolla! i live in chula vista, and im safe from tj</p>