Flip side: Over my dead body my daughter would go to...

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Definitely.

I assume you mean "high crime rate."

Many colleges and universities are in the heart of cities. There is no massive gate to separate the campus environment from the city environment. That's a good thing. My children are raised to understand that most crimes are not random but are instead based on people's routine activities. Be smart, whether you are a college student or not, and you reduce the likelihood of person and property victimization.

Also...how bad are most college towns really? Even those in the core of a city usually have excellent police/security coverage. None of my friends at Columbia or Penn got robbed/mugged on campus, and those schools are in the "roughest" parts of their respective cities.

[als463]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Also...how bad are most college towns really? Even those in the core of a city usually have excellent police/security coverage. None of my friends at Columbia or Penn got robbed/mugged on campus, and those schools are in the "roughest" parts of their respective cities.

Actually, I almost went to Temple University. The week or so before I was supposed to start school, someone was stabbed ON the campus! After that, I immediately decided to go to Penn State instead. I guess it all worked out.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Also...how bad are most college towns really? Even those in the core of a city usually have excellent police/security coverage. None of my friends at Columbia or Penn got robbed/mugged on campus, and those schools are in the "roughest" parts of their respective cities.

The average person in a high crime area will not be victimized. That goes for on campus and off campus.

There are colleges/universities in cities with really high crime rates. At one particular university, someone was shot beside my friend's car one night and her car was broken into the next night. I don't know what the person who got shot was doing but they probably knew the offender; and my friend's car got broken into because she left some items in view. Again, not random so most people will be fine if they are careful and attentive.

As for excellent police coverage, sometimes, but usually not and it really isn't up to campus police other than creating the appearance of safety. Plus, campus police service the campus only. They generally don't cover what happens an inch from the campus border; and they don't fully cover most things that happen on campus (i.e. students who are mugged walking from their car to their door can go to campus police but it doesn't stop there). Lastly, not every college/university has campus police. They have campus security that don't carry weapons and are ineffective without the city police. That's why students have to be observant and smart.

With that said, I survived it, my significant other survived it, and our child will most likely survive it.