Would you downvote a school over being in an unsafe area?

[Anonymous]

As a petite female, i ruled out U Penn for myself when i visited 20 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Hard to define "unsafe". Someone getting their head cut off at Virginia Tech, and the mass shooting, guess it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

I was happy when my kid was deferred from Uof Chicago...but then a student in my other kids very rural town was fatally shot as she left her campus and headed home mid afternoon. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most high school kids around me spend time away from parents all over the DMV, including areas that have had plenty of crime over the years (Union Station, H Street, Chinatown, ect.). As long as they are smart and know risks generally, I'd be fine with an area that isn't as safe. I feel like most parents in this area have been over basic safety with their teens.

You sound naively overconfident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I properly would, as the parent. But I probably wouldn’t stop my child from going if they had their heart set. As unfair as this sounds, I would probably be more concerned for my daughter than my son.

In 2022, there were slightly more female victims of violent crime than male victims, with about 1,749,030 male victims and 1,762,840 female victims. These figures are a significant increase from the previous year, when there were 1,456,310 male victims and 1,278,390 female.

(I wonder why the huge rise in crimes with female victims?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would.

Many schools cheat on their Cleary reporting of on-campus crime as required by the federal government.

Would probably help if you named the schools ? (Drexel ? Temple ? U Penn ?)

Hmmm, no cheating here. I guess I'd forgotten when I said campus was safe: they've had an issue with sexual assaults involving students. Just nothing spilling over from town is what is what meant.

Sounds like Bates College in Lewiston, Maine:

https://thebatesstudent.com/22327/forum/anonymous-app-exposes-sexual-assault-on-campus/

https://wcyy.com/the-10-most-dangerous-places-to-live-in-maine-right-now/

Not Bates. But really, do specifics matter?

They do to parents & students considering that school.

Well, I would guess most know. I was more wondering if it would affect you opinion of sending DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most high school kids around me spend time away from parents all over the DMV, including areas that have had plenty of crime over the years (Union Station, H Street, Chinatown, ect.). As long as they are smart and know risks generally, I'd be fine with an area that isn't as safe. I feel like most parents in this area have been over basic safety with their teens.

Might be harder to move than pick a college with a safe location. It’s not like there aren’t options. I have known families who picked certain highly ranked schools only later to feel they sorta sold out and endangered their kids by putting rank above safety and other interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most high school kids around me spend time away from parents all over the DMV, including areas that have had plenty of crime over the years (Union Station, H Street, Chinatown, ect.). As long as they are smart and know risks generally, I'd be fine with an area that isn't as safe. I feel like most parents in this area have been over basic safety with their teens.

My suburban Fairfax high school daughter hasn't spent time in any of those place. Not because she is barred from it, but because of lack of interest. She's rather go to Tysons or the Mosaic District.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most high school kids around me spend time away from parents all over the DMV, including areas that have had plenty of crime over the years (Union Station, H Street, Chinatown, ect.). As long as they are smart and know risks generally, I'd be fine with an area that isn't as safe. I feel like most parents in this area have been over basic safety with their teens.

Might be harder to move than pick a college with a safe location. It’s not like there aren’t options. I have known families who picked certain highly ranked schools only later to feel they sorta sold out and endangered their kids by putting rank above safety and other interests.

This is what I worry about. DC wouldn't be wandering around town much, though, and maybe that's the answer. I'm just feeling rather sheltered right now.

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most high school kids around me spend time away from parents all over the DMV, including areas that have had plenty of crime over the years (Union Station, H Street, Chinatown, ect.). As long as they are smart and know risks generally, I'd be fine with an area that isn't as safe. I feel like most parents in this area have been over basic safety with their teens.

Might be harder to move than pick a college with a safe location. It’s not like there aren’t options. I have known families who picked certain highly ranked schools only later to feel they sorta sold out and endangered their kids by putting rank above safety and other interests.

This. Even if the school is in a safe area, it might be part of a larger city with not safe areas. Kids leave campus to go to bars, restaurants, other activities, etc. Criminal elements are attracted to campuses because they know college students are easy targets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would.

Many schools cheat on their Cleary reporting of on-campus crime as required by the federal government.

Would probably help if you named the schools ? (Drexel ? Temple ? U Penn ?)

No, you're wrong. Ask anyone with a college kid who has opted into getting the emails. They come all the time. They want their community to know what's going on.

Liberty is in huge trouble for violating the Clery Act.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/10/03/liberty-university-clery-act/

Liberty University has failed for years to keep its campus safe and repeatedly violated the federal law that specifies how it should do so, according to preliminary confidential findings from an Education Department inquiry.

The initial report on the school’s Clery Act compliance — which the university can respond to and dispute before the department makes a final determination — paints a picture of a university that discouraged people from reporting crimes, underreported the claims it received and, meanwhile, marketed its Virginia campus as one of the safest in the country.

Liberty failed to warn the campus community about gas leaks, bomb threats and people credibly accused of repeated acts of sexual violence — including a senior administrator and an athlete — according to the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post.

Crime statistics, too, were systematically underreported, according to the 74-page review, which says Liberty could not provide basic documentation to substantiate its campus crime figures. The authors note that schools that participate in federal financial aid programs are legally required to produce records of this kind.

Investigators also said the university might have “simply estimated its crime statistics or otherwise made them up to serve the long-standing narrative … that it was the safest college in Virginia.” They cite a campus police officer and witnesses who saw “stacks of incident reports laying on tables in an unsecured room” and “learned that the records were to be shredded.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most high school kids around me spend time away from parents all over the DMV, including areas that have had plenty of crime over the years (Union Station, H Street, Chinatown, ect.). As long as they are smart and know risks generally, I'd be fine with an area that isn't as safe. I feel like most parents in this area have been over basic safety with their teens.

Might be harder to move than pick a college with a safe location. It’s not like there aren’t options. I have known families who picked certain highly ranked schools only later to feel they sorta sold out and endangered their kids by putting rank above safety and other interests.

This. Even if the school is in a safe area, it might be part of a larger city with not safe areas. Kids leave campus to go to bars, restaurants, other activities, etc. Criminal elements are attracted to campuses because they know college students are easy targets.

What if students here are less likely to leave campus than most? Would that ease your worry?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If campus itself was otherwise very safe?

No
Both of my kids attended colleges that were in urban areas next to "not so safe areas". It is fine, your kid just needs to be aware of this. In fact in some ways they are more aware of issues than kids on a suburban/rural campus, who "think it's safer" but isn't really.

+ 1 , same here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If campus itself was otherwise very safe?

That would eliminate lots of good schools so I wouldn't.