stats are stats:)
Yes they areâŠas the ed.gov site also demonstrates 
@tonymom I guess we would have to define âproblem.â Iâm through EPA almost on a daily basis day and night and Iâm not seeing a âproblem.â Is there crime? Sure, but a âproblemâ? I canât compare it to New Haven, since Iâve not been there.
As for those 2015 statistics, per 1,000 students, since Stanford has more students:
Rape= Yale 1.45, Stanford 1.47
Fondling= Yale 0.97, Stanford 0.65
Robbery= Yale 2.26, Stanford 0.00
Aggravated Assault= Yale 0.57, Stanford 0.00
Burglary= Yale 5.65, Stanford 3.36
Vehicle Theft= Yale 1.29, Stanford 2.12
Arson= Yale 0.08, Stanford 0.00
Stanford seems like a safer campus to me.
Perhaps it does, but the difference (as youâve shown) is extremely small. It becomes even smaller when you realize that Yale has an urban campus with a large number of shops, restaurants, commuters, passers-by etc. who arenât counted in the student enrollment if youâre looking at per capita numbers.
I trust OP is smart enough to judge how small the risks are and make a decision for themselves.
Neither Stanford nor Yale are in great neighborhoods, but the campuses are safe and the universities spend a lot of money making sure this is the case. Itâs reasonable to pick West Coast vs East Coast, or close to New York vs close to SF, but I wouldnât split hairs over the suburbs surrounding campus.
Stanford is not in a great neighborhood? What? Huh? I live in the âneighborhood.â Have you been to the neighborhood? Bounded by Palo Alto, Menlo Park/Atherton, Portola Valley/Woodside and Mountain View/Los Altos youâre talking about some of the most expensive residential and commercial real estate in the country.
@tonymom - actually, @sbballer is not a Stanford person, although he/she claims to be. Normally, they squat in the Stanford forum, braying error-ridden nonsense that I and others correct when we feel like it/have time. Go back there, @sbballer, whoever and whatever you are - we donât need you over here.
walk outside the Yale campus⊠itâs not safe. something to consider
It wouldnât surprise me if youâd never been to Yale. I think most if not all all your knowledge comes from Google. I hope the OP was able to attend Bulldog Days, walk around campus, talk to people and see for themselves.
Some differences between Yale and Stanford respectively:
Semesters vs Quarters
East Coast/New England vs West Coast
Urban vs more suburban environment.
Only slight academic differences overall is that Stanfordâs engineering/CS programs are in the very tippy-top elite tier whereas Yale canât compare in those fields. However, since your interests are in poli-sciâŠboth will offer strong programs. What area of Poli-sci are you interested in?
Regarding the safety issues around Yale, none of the dozens of HS classmates or colleagues who attended found it to be a serious issue. Granted, some of that may have to do with the fact we all grew up in NYCâŠand some of us grew up there at the tail end of the high crime wave.
Here, by the way, is information on two selective majors at Yale you may find interesting: (i) Ethics, Politics and Economics; and (ii) Global Affairs, as well as (iii) the conventional Political Science major:
http://epe.yale.edu
http://jackson.yale.edu/study/ba/program/
http://politicalscience.yale.edu/academics/about-undergraduate-program
John Kerry, former Secretary of State and a Yale alum, is also back there now: http://news.yale.edu/2017/02/16/secretary-john-kerry-66-joins-yale-distinguished-fellow-global-affairs
I have no doubt thereâs loads to do at Stanford also; perhaps some people whoâve spent time at Stanford have some thoughts.
Here is an interesting article in todayâs NYT about the pitfalls of college visits. https://nyti.ms/2pkMAmp
Having spent much time in both places over the past 5 years there is just no question that Stanford feels safer. You can walk all 9000 acres without ever wondering whether you are in danger or walking past a liquor store with people hanging about or being near people whose desperate situations make you feel like a target. That is not true about Yale. The campus is smaller and so there is less buffer. But the Yale campus itself plus its close in business areas are wonderful, pleasantly urban.