<p>I want to know where all of these people handing out free advance screening tickets are...</p>
<p>There's pretty much no question about it, it's one of (if not THE) poorest areas in Los Angeles. Gangs such as MS-13 are only a few blocks walk away, and there have been two cases of armed robbery in the recent past (one at a starbucks and one right outside of the Bank of America branch office, nobody was shot, and the suspects have been apprehended and promises of greater security have been made). That being said, the area IMMEDIATELY around campus isn't too bad, being policed by DPS and much of it being owned by the University. The apartments around campus range from total garbage with terrible landlords to decent and "business-as-usual" landlords (I'm going through the process of finding my own apartment for next year atm, and this is what I've found so far). </p>
<p>In general, as long as you use your brain, you'll probably be safe. But I mean, come on, it's a city. The second largest city in the US. It's not even a good area in a big city. Of course there's a risk of something happening. DPS Patrols many of the places students go, which definitely helps out, but you'll still hear about someone getting mugged at night or something, but it's usually some drunk chick who was acting like an idiot, walking down some dark ally at 3 AM.</p>
<p>As for me? I've lived near a big city my whole life, and I have common sense. I don't EVER feel threatened when I'm ON campus (even when I'm walking alone, talking on my cell phone at 12 AM), that's for sure, and I generally don't feel threatened leaving campus unless I need to walk particularly far away and late at night (walk with a friend if you're going out late at night. I personally don't have a problem going to the UV after dark, but much farther than that and you should be with someone else).</p>
<p>As the previous poster pointed out, however, this seems to be a common theme at many colleges. The two schools that were in competition with USC for my tuition last year, Yale and the University of Chicago, are both in bad neighborhoods (I actually felt more threatened leaving Yale's campus than USC's campus). So, I don't know. I guess all I'm saying is that you should look at your other choices and decide if the area around USC is really any worse and if it's bad enough that you would not go to USC over your other schools. Definitely visit. Definitely call DPS if you're concerned, I'm sure they can give you more information about safety around and on campus.</p>
<p>Overall, good luck!</p>
<p>P.S. The chances of getting SHOT are pretty slim unless you're really acting like a total moron and get extremely unlucky. I mean, come on, we don't live in an old western movie; people don't run around shooting each other for no reason unless they're seriously deranged (not poor -- deranged). Getting robbed/mugged is another story, however.</p>