JHU safety

[Anonymous]

My Hopkins doctor was kidnapped, stuffed the car trunk and driven around to ATM's and forced to make withdrawals are gunpoint. He survived but had serious PTSD.

This was not recently. But it was when I was in grad school (at the Medical Campus) there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Pretty sure this is about the Homewood campus. The first sentence is making the point that JHH is not in the same area as JHU, then goes on to describe the neighborhood around JHU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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)

I think Hopkins is significantly safer than U of Chicago. It's not "safe" in the sense that you could get mugged if you wandered around the streets near campus at night, but that could happen at Penn, too. I wouldn't have concerns about sending a kid who wants to be in a city to Hopkins.

[Anonymous]

Yes, there have been some deaths adjacent to the UChicago campus, but just because a school is in a city doesn't mean it is unsafe.

There are clearly overwrought, panic stricken moms on this site.

Seriously, chill out.

[Anonymous]

Chortles.
Well, obviously you didn’t see that thread on CC. Are you a Maroon or parent of one? Thanks for the misogynistic bit, too.

[Anonymous]

Hopkins is much safer than the South side of Chicago. Much.
A girl died a few years ago when she fell, drunk, from a balcony. Stuff like that happens at every school. A kid died at Penn State at a frat a few years back. Have you ever been to State College, PA? It's one of the safest places anywhere, yet they had a shooting in a restaurant! Shit happens everywhere.
If you have a very naive kid, don't send him/her to school in a city, but don't think they're safe out in the country. Schools attract weird people (non-students), so no campus is 100% safe. There were a number of rapes at my suburbam SLAC years ago for that very reason. Kids gotta keep their wits about them no matter where they go.

[Anonymous]

Together, I spent 15 years at University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins and because of my research, I spent a lot of time travelling all over both cities. I don't think this is really an answerable question. UofC is having a bad year, but to me, it does seem anomalous. Baltimore does have a higher overall murder rate than Chicago. In both cities, there are buffers between the Universities and the neighborhoods with the most violence. Baltimore always struck me as more deeply dysfunctional than Chicago. Baltimore is a pretty compact city and so much of it is just not functional and living there I felt so close to all the mayhem. Maybe that was just because I was at a different stage of life and was pregnant then had a young child when I was there.

[Anonymous]

I am in the same position as OP’s DC (I am a senior and applying to the same top-level schools) and loved UChicago up until I heard about recent safety issues. Now I am no longer applying there, but am still looking at Hopkins. Really interested in city schools and toured Hopkins a few weeks ago but the campus was not what I was expecting (not completely in the city, more campusy, etc.). I am still looking at Hopkins but it is also really close to me and I’m looking to be farther away so that is another con for me personally. Briefly saw Columbia this weekend and am thinking I’ll apply there now too. FWIW, I took an online course at Hopkins this summer and now get email alerts for crime incidents and there are definitely armed car jackings, robberies, etc. near campus, but not to the extent of Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Yes it does, and yes it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My Hopkins doctor was kidnapped, stuffed the car trunk and driven around to ATM's and forced to make withdrawals are gunpoint. He survived but had serious PTSD.

This was not recently. But it was when I was in grad school (at the Medical Campus) there.

Pretty sure this event was well over a decade ago, and so uncommon as to get lots of press at the time.

[Anonymous]

Would you send your kid to school in DuPont circle? Because that is a pretty good comparison for Hopkins undergrad campus safety,

[Anonymous]

I've lived nearby for almost thirty years and have never been a crime victim. Use common sense and don't sell drugs or join a gang.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This. Stay away from any children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you send your kid to school in DuPont circle? Because that is a pretty good comparison for Hopkins undergrad campus safety,

Eh, Homewood on a good day is similar to DuPont in its worst day. Homewood can be much much worse.

[Anonymous]

Tufts