JHU safety

[Anonymous]

Our DC is applying to universities this year, and we are reading what is happening with safety issues at the University of Chicago, which making us hesitant to apply to campuses with danger levels of safety for students. What do folks think about the safety levels at JHU? Is it in the same boat at UChicago in respect to campus safety for students? Which other top-level university campuses (?Yale, ?UPenn, ?Columbia, etc...) have similar trade-offs that University of Chicago has, that we should consider before making any decisions regarding application or acceptance? Would JHU in particular be on the same safety level as University of Chicago? (Needless to say, for our DC these colleges would be possible etc... but the main question is regarding campus safety)

[Anonymous]

"Johns Hopkins Hospital is surrounded by high crime areas, but this is not true of the university (they are located in two different areas). The area to the north of JHU is home to much of the most expensive real estate in the city. The area to the west is a very trendy neighborhood that is popular with young people and artists, although there are still a lot of older long-time residents there. The neighborhoods to the south are also trendy and popular with young people and college students. It’s a little grittier than the areas to the west and north, but by no means is it a high crime area. The neighborhoods to the east would probably be considered less desirable than the others, but again, they are not high crime areas by any standard."

[Anonymous]

If you are local, drive there and see for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Johns Hopkins Hospital is surrounded by high crime areas, but this is not true of the university (they are located in two different areas). The area to the north of JHU is home to much of the most expensive real estate in the city. The area to the west is a very trendy neighborhood that is popular with young people and artists, although there are still a lot of older long-time residents there. The neighborhoods to the south are also trendy and popular with young people and college students. It’s a little grittier than the areas to the west and north, but by no means is it a high crime area. The neighborhoods to the east would probably be considered less desirable than the others, but again, they are not high crime areas by any standard."

So this doesn't answer the question about the JHU Homewood campus which is in a different area of the city than Johns Hopkins Hospital

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are local, drive there and see for yourself.

How should one "see" crime rates? By visiting and noting the color of people's skin? Or by spending 1 year at a university corner and taking notes and observing how many crimes have taken place? Even local people need analytic data and inferences and common collective experience and risk perceptions to make decisions. "Go there and see for yourself" is a silly response.

[Anonymous]

JHU campus is fine, you just can’t wander much which sort of defeats the purpose of going to school in a city.

[Anonymous]

Hopkins Homewood campus is a a block or two from some very crime ridden streets. It's also near some very nice areas but those too are near high crime areas. This is the nature of Baltimore: you're never far (generally blocks away) from
a high crime area. It's not like many cities in which the crime is more segregated.

That said, violent crime against members of the Hopkins community is exceedingly rare. Same as it's ultimately rare against the university community at Chicago or Yale. Ultimately, many thousands of people go to and from these campuses each day and the incidence of violent crime
against citizens is extremely rare. 99.999% of the violent crime is within the drug community (which hopefully your child will not be apart of). What is a daily part of life is nuisance crime: car break ins, car theft, etc.

--I lived in Baltimore for 20 years while attending undergrad at Hopkins followed by a PhD at the medical campus.

[Anonymous]

Hopkins Homewood campus is a a block or two from some very crime ridden streets. It's also near some very nice areas but those too are near high crime areas. This is the nature of Baltimore: you're never far (generally blocks away) from
a high crime area. It's not like many cities in which the crime is more segregated.

That said, violent crime against members of the Hopkins community is exceedingly rare. Same as it's ultimately rare against the university community at Chicago or Yale. Ultimately, many thousands of people go to and from these campuses each day and the incidence of violent crime
against citizens is extremely rare. 99.999% of the violent crime is within the drug community (which hopefully your child will not be apart of). What is a daily part of life is nuisance crime: car break ins, car theft, etc.

--I lived in Baltimore for 20 years while attending undergrad at Hopkins followed by a PhD at the medical campus.

+1

Went to JHU 20+ years ago. I think it's actually a lot nicer now with more options for eateries and night life. Still a very dangerous city with lots of car and other break ins. I would say about 1/4 of everyone I knew there (students) by the time I had graduated had been mugged, car theft, home break in, or even car jacked. Not violent crimes, but robberies. But all off campus incidents.

[Anonymous]

PP here - most (all?) students live off-campus after year 2. There are only dorms for 1-2 years.

[Anonymous]

In all likelihood this is an imaginary problem. The acceptance rates at these schools is extraordinarily small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are local, drive there and see for yourself.

How should one "see" crime rates? By visiting and noting the color of people's skin? Or by spending 1 year at a university corner and taking notes and observing how many crimes have taken place? Even local people need analytic data and inferences and common collective experience and risk perceptions to make decisions. "Go there and see for yourself" is a silly response.

Just look at the map.

https://spotcrime.com/md/baltimore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Hopkins Homewood campus is a a block or two from some very crime ridden streets. It's also near some very nice areas but those too are near high crime areas. This is the nature of Baltimore: you're never far (generally blocks away) from
a high crime area. It's not like many cities in which the crime is more segregated.

That said, violent crime against members of the Hopkins community is exceedingly rare. Same as it's ultimately rare against the university community at Chicago or Yale. Ultimately, many thousands of people go to and from these campuses each day and the incidence of violent crime
against citizens is extremely rare. 99.999% of the violent crime is within the drug community (which hopefully your child will not be apart of). What is a daily part of life is nuisance crime: car break ins, car theft, etc.

--I lived in Baltimore for 20 years while attending undergrad at Hopkins followed by a PhD at the medical campus.

+1

Went to JHU 20+ years ago. I think it's actually a lot nicer now with more options for eateries and night life. Still a very dangerous city with lots of car and other break ins. I would say about 1/4 of everyone I knew there (students) by the time I had graduated had been mugged, car theft, home break in, or even car jacked. Not violent crimes, but robberies. But all off campus incidents.

I lived in Baltimore for 20 years: undergrad, grad, first job, first homeownership, etc. Lived in Charles Village, Hamden, Mount Vernon, Federal Hill.
I never never knew anyone who was car jacked or mugged by gun or knife point.

I did have a car stolen and had my car broken into about 10 times. Mostly when I left something in view but several times when the car was just parked on the street. I had one friend who just started leaving his car unlocked. If people were going to rummage through it, at least he didn't have to get a new window.

[Anonymous]

This topic has been debated in other threads, so I suggest your search the forum.

I think JHU is not as dangerous as U of Chicago.

But Baltimore does have unsafe neighborhoods, which are hard to avoid as you travel around the city at night (which college kids tend to do). They are tied to its big drug trade and addiction rates.

Many urban campuses share this risk, but since Hopkins is right up the road, why don't you visit and get a feel for the neighborhoods where students live (including at night).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are local, drive there and see for yourself.

How should one "see" crime rates? By visiting and noting the color of people's skin? Or by spending 1 year at a university corner and taking notes and observing how many crimes have taken place? Even local people need analytic data and inferences and common collective experience and risk perceptions to make decisions. "Go there and see for yourself" is a silly response.

Please, don't be so dense. You can drive through any area and 100% tell within 20 minutes if it is a safe place where you'd want your child to live. At least most of us can.

[Anonymous]

I was a grad student at the Homewood campus (main campus). It's a city campus. It isn't safe, but seriously no university in a city is safe. You keep your eyes open. Walk with friends. Use the university transportation. Hopkins sent out notifications for crimes, notifications when it was gang initiation season - if a 10 year old approaches you, cross the street. Do not believe they won't assault you. Stuff like that.