Why I want to go to a school like JHU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
21

<p>Yeah, from what it seems, security isnt super great for those living off-campus. The plus side, however, is the construction of the Charles Commons which is upperclassmen housing that is close to campus (the construction is going on right next to my room and it is loud as hell). It's gonna have a Barnes and Noble (w/ Starbucks...score!) and will be available for use by Fall 06'. </p>

<p>Security IS a serious issue. Hopkins is obviously aware of that and things are being done about it, so once again...security should not stop one from applying as it is getting much much better.</p>

22

<p>I just want to add one thing to the back and forth debate on this thread - and it is directed at high schoolers considering applying to Hopkins -- COME VISIT. </p>

<p>Come visit the Homewood campus, walk around, go to Charles Street and St. Paul's street, go to the Inner Harbor -- and then make your own personal decision about whether Hopkins is safe and you would feel comfortable there for four years.</p>

<p>Issues of safety and security are personal decisions and accepting someone else's opinion whether positive or negative is a bit crazy. I personally feel extremely safe at Hopkins even after the incidents of the last two years, and I applaud the university for all the actions they have taken to respond and make on and off campus living safer. That is my opinion though, you all need to make up your own minds.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

23

<p>laxfan,</p>

<p>i agree that it is fair for everyone to make their own opinion based on the safety at hopkins but there is absolutely no way someone can accurately form an opinion after a short visit to Hopkins and the surrounding area. </p>

<p>i will say that on campus safety isn't really a major concern, the real problem lies off campus, where upperclassmen are forced to live. the new charles commons project will help alleviate this problem but 1000+ students will still be forced to live off campus. the surrounding area is far from safe and hopkins has done little to improve the safety in these areas. it only takes a little effort to break into just about any row house or apartment leaving many students vulnerable, and how has hopkins responded? well for starters, they took away the shuttle service making walking to campus at night an adventure and have increased the presence of "cops on bikes" that do next to nothing, especially more than 3 blocks from campus. i just don't see what hopkins has done to help off campus students, and ultimately i feel that is where the problem lies.</p>

<p>there is no way a high school student could get a feel for any of that in a few days visit</p>

24

<p>
[quote]
As for proving that Hopkins is less safe than other campuses I will again state that 2 people have been murdered in the last two years and people have been mugged in there own rooms in AMR II. I have no statistics to back up my claims, but these are true facts about life at Hopkins.

[/quote]

In otherwords, you have formulated an opionion comparing JHU with other schools by only looking at two murders over several years at JHU. Well, fortunately I can back my opinion with some statistics. There is more to crime than just murder. Let's take a look at some 2003 and 2004 on-campus data for schools:</p>

<p>SEXUAL OFFENSES - FORCEABLE
University of Virginia 23
George Mason U. 19
Georgetown 18
U. MD at college park 11
U. of Delaware 9
Virginia Tech 7
Radford U. 6
American U. 5
G.W.U. 3
Towson
Washington College 2
JOHNS HOPKINS 1</p>

<p>ROBBERY
U. MD at college park 11
U. of Del. 8
G.W.U. 3
U.Va. 2
Towson 1
Va. Tech 1
George Mason 1
Radford 0
Georgetown 0
American U. 0
Washington College 0
JOHNS HOPKINS 0</p>

<p>AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
U. MD at college park 23
Va. Tech 7
U. of Del. 5
U.Va. 4
Towson 3
Radford 3
George Mason 2
G.W.U. 2
JOHNS HOPKINS 2
American U. 1
Washington college 0
Georgetown 0</p>

<p>BURGLARY
U. MD at college park 148
G.W.U. 105
Towson 45
Georgetown 39
U. of Del 34
American U. 32
Va. Tech 31
Washington college 17
George Mason 12
U.Va. 8
JOHNS HOPKINS 4
Radford 2</p>

<p>As you can see, JHU is at the low end of crime when it comes to comparing JHU to other schools. Notice that U.Va. is in a small city and Va. Tech is in a rural town. Towson is about ten miles north of JHU in a suburb. Radford is in a rural town in Virginia. JHU looks a lot like Washington College which is in a small town in Maryland. </p>

<p>The pattern for off campus crime is similar for these schools. The bottom line is that other than two high profile murders, JHU has a low crime rate when compared to many other schools. I am sure there may be some minor reporting errors in the data from various schools, but the overall trend shows JHU is a safe place to attend college. </p>

<p>All of this data is BEFORE JHU installed its recent campus security measures including CCTV cameras located throughout the campus. Thus, future crime rates will be even lower.</p>

<p><a href="http://ope.ed.gov/security/index.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ope.ed.gov/security/index.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

25

<p>spe07,
Interesting argument, and I concede that more needs to be done in terms of off-campus security. I am not going to take the root of JHURocks and make a stance with statistics, but I do want to politely disagree with you on two issues and share my thoughts.</p>

<p>First, I do stick by my statement that prospective students should visit and make their own judgments about safety and security of the campus, the surrounding neighborhood, and Baltimore. I disagree with you in that a student can not make such assessments in a short visit. In the fall, when someone is considering whether to apply they can spend a day on-campus, take a tour, sit in on an information session, have lunch in Levering, visit a class, see the dorms, and then go walking around Charles/St. Pauls/ and beyond. Maybe have dinner in the Inner Harbor to see that part of Baltimore. Students who invest a day to see what Hopkins is all about can make such decisions -- and in the fall all you are doing is deciding if you are going to apply.</p>

<p>In the spring, once admitted, students can come back for overnight programs and really see what living in Charles Village is all about. A proactive student can really get a sense of this place by walking around and talking with as many current students as possible. I'll use my dad's analogy -- you wouldn't buy a car without seriously test driving it, why choose a college with out investing time there.</p>

<p>The second point I disagree with you about is how dire the off-campus situation is. Yes, it took tragedy for the University to see things had to be addresses but in my opinion they have moved fast and are addressing many issues, on and off campus. The construction and future plans of the University expressly address many of the issues of off-campus life, and I feel a bit of patience and things will dramatically improve. I live off-campus, most of my friends live off-campus, and the picture is not as bleak as you paint it. Once you get beyond 3 or 4 blocks from Homewood it gets worse, but that is choice one has when selecting where to live. Pay a little more, be closer to Homewood, and feel safer.</p>

<p>Do I agree that more needs to be done -- YES! Is Hopkins working on it -- YES! Is it as bad as other city schools that I have visited -- NO! </p>

<p>Just my two cents - you can disagree.</p>

26

<p>hmm.
Housing provided by the university is definately safe. i dont see much of anything going on at say...the carlyle or uni-west or hopkins house.
<em>frown</em></p>

27

<p>laxfan,</p>

<p>I more or less agree with you on many of the points, i still think it is difficult to for a visitor to accuratlely form an opinion (but i guess we can agree to disagree) but i will say hopkins is doing an outstanding job increasing security so maybe my opinions will change in the upcoming years.</p>

<p>jhurocks,</p>

<p>if you honestly think a rural school like VaTech is safer than hopkins than i cannot even argue with you. hopkins is in a rough neighborhood and much can be said about the safety of off campus students. </p>

<p>on a side note, i think those statistics are very far off, simply due to the fact that i know of many students who have been mugged and not reported it. i will let you claim that blacksburg, VA is a more dangerous place than baltimore, but i feel like you will be a minority in this case</p>

28

<p>i also was in a disagreement about comparing VaTech to JHU, but thought i would just gloss over that. </p>

<p>here is how i would summarize this debate, and i think you would agree spe07....</p>

<p>...Hopkins is in a city. All city schools must deal with safety and security issues. On-campus, JHU has done well and almost all students feel very safe. Off-campus, JHU is working on things - some students feel very safe, others do not. Ultimately for the applicants, visit the campus, speak with as many current students you can, and then make your own persoanl decision.</p>

<p>Now let's talk about something else...say, how sick of midterms i am...</p>