How dangerous exactly are these places?

[TheLuckyOne]

Hi guys, I am a junior this year, and I will apply for PhD programs next year. I have been researching about programs, and I have realized that some top institutes locate in notoriously dangerous and chaotic places. Specifically, the University of Chicago, Yale, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Columbia and NYU. I am a girl and I plan to live off campus for my graduate study. Therefore, safety matters tremendously for me and my family. I was wondering how terrible are these places in reality? Do their locations hugely affect the quality of students' life in these institutions? Should I rule these awesome programs out because of their locations? Thank you!

[gingin6789]

Hey, luckyone!! 

 

I'm not sure about any of these schools, specifically, but I'm willing to bet that other users in this forum will be able to chime in!!

 

My suggestion is to look in the "City Guide" forum here!!  You can use the search bar to search the city, or you can just keep scrolling until you find the city where the university is located!  The City Guide gives advice on housing, safety, places to eat, location grocery stores, etc ... it is a very helpful resource to browse until you get more specific answers here!  Good luck!!

[peachypie]

I don't know all of the campuses but I do know U of Chicago and Johns Hopkins.  In most scenarios the school and campus themselves are very safety conscious because of what lies outside of campus.  i think it all of the scenarios you list you need to realize that there are going to be dangers and be aware of the times you are more susceptible to them (i.e. coming back late at night from class to your home).  i think in both of these scenarios you have one of two options...live near campus and try to be as close to the extra safety measures that generally are found on campus or live further but have to commute through these places with the understanding that you need to be careful in your commute.  People are able to do it obviously, it is just your level of comfort.  if you can schedule a visit that should give you an indication of what you are or aren't comfortable with.  Ask students if you can (even before applications try to get in touch with people) and see what you can find out about the campus and grad student life in relation to safety.

[breaks0]

NYU? Lucky, I don't know where you're from or live, but the west village is pretty safe these days, it's a VERY wealthy area and, while I know it's easy for me as a guy to say this, NY in general is still the safest major city in the US by a good margin. Not all areas, for example, what you say about the Morningside Heights area near Columbia U is true. You probably wanna be more cautious there since despite the ongoing gentrification of nearby Harlem, they do have ongoing crime issues. And the NYU area isn't perfect and I suppose as a woman, it may just be safer to either go at home with other people when possible at night or take campus shuttles and such, but even so there's a big difference between that area safety wise and the other areas you refer to.

 

That said, again, in regard to all those other areas you have a point.

Edited March 12, 2014 by breaks0

[Aspiringscholar52]

From personal experience, I would not rule out any of these areas based on the "danger" of them which is largely overblown, especially if you have been reading about this danger online.

 

I have personal experience with NYU, Columbia, Chicago, and to a lesser extent Upenn. For NYU, Columbia, Chicago, it is quite safe most times of day except perhaps very late at night (2-4am for example, but even then you are probably fine). To my knowledge, all of these campuses have safe ride programs where you can get a campus security shuttle or escort from anywhere on campus to another university property and/or your apartment depending on the set up.

 

That being said, common sense is your best asset and living close to campus is probably safest (due to the density of students and campus police). At any time, don't walk about with your iPhone, iPad, etc out highly exposed where someone can snatch it; don't walk around aimlessly or look like a tourist or that you are lost. Late at night (much past midnight) and if you are a girl, it is probably best to walk with someone else, and taking a bike is a great alternative because you are not nearly as easy a target on bike. (For any of these locations, girls seem to be fine walking by themselves at night, and I do not know of anyone personally who has had a dangerous experience walking by themselves). 

 

My advice would be to apply to any and all these programs if they fit your interests, and then if accepted, go to the visit day to get a feel for the campus. Talk to other students there with your concerns and make a choice. Having attended NYU and worked at Columbia, I was initially under the impression that Chicago was far too dangerous. This impression turned out to be vastly incorrect. Chicago/Hyde Park is actually far calmer and quieter than NYU/Columbia and based on the fortification of NYU/Columbia and lack thereof in Chicago, further signals to the comparatively safer feel of that school versus the others. This being said, I never felt unsafe at Columbia/NYU even walking/biking about between 2am-4am.