Does anyone have any feedback on Worcester and safety around campus? My big hesitation about Clark is the surrounding area. Do most students just stay on campus?
Please let me preface this that I am from NYC. I got to stay in Auburn which is the neighboring town when my daughter did the overnight in the dorm. We drove all around Worcester. I thought it was relatively tame and quiet compared to places I have been. It’s typical of your New England city trying to make a comeback as you see art venues breathing life into vacant downtown buildings. Clark is down the road from the inner city in a more residential area but still a mix of small business and parks. There are some other major colleges nearby.
A point made by Clark is that they are an open campus. It is an integral part of the community and thus does not have that adversarial relationship or feeling “oh, it’s outsiders going to college in our town” found at gated colleges. They have the bluelight kiosks, active patrols, and escorts. We saw many groups of college kids walking on the main avenue away from Clark. I think juniors/seniors live off campus. There seems so much to do locally that students rarely trek to Boston.
Again, Worcester is an urban environment. It probably has some dark alleys to avoid but use common sense. The city has a lot of potential(especially if that is where you will go out, do your research or projects and can see an impact) and consider that to overcome your hesitation.
My daughter and I visited several times, and walked all around the area. It is a little rundown, but lots of great (and cheap!) places nearby. At several venues, people saw our Clark bag and started talking to us. Some were Clark students talking about how great the school was, and others were just people in the community who said how much they liked Clark students over the students at the other school up on the hill, which I will not name.
We live in a small, somewhat rundown city like Worcester, so my daughter loved it and felt quite comfortable, but she is used to this sort of environment and what to watch out for. If you are from a small town or upscale suburb, it might take a bit longer for your student to get used to it, but it sounds like the college does a good job at orienting students.
My college roommate lived in Worcester for several years, until about 2 years ago, so I know the city fairly well. The side of town that Clark is on is rougher than some other sections, but there is not a lot of serious crime. It also hit me this year, while my daughter was searching for a college, that a college in my region in a ritzy town had to lock down their campus 3 times this year due to stalkers, criminals, etc. around. Perhaps when a college is in a more urban area, things like this are less likely to happen because the college is always cognizant of security.