Reply to WashU and Emory

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "WashU and Emory"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]^ To the PP wondering about St. Louis: I’m a WashU parent and can speak to my impressions of how things are going on campus - both via my own observations and those of my DD - but I can’t necessarily speak to St. Louis, because the campus is fairly removed from it.

The eastern-most block (or so) of WashU’s campus is located in St. Louis. This consists of a gigantic circle drive and greenspace. Maybe a couple of buildings. East of that is Forest Park. DD runs through the park often and it is beautiful. Here’s some information about the park, which (as DD tells it) many students frequent:

“Forest Park, officially opened to the public on June 24, 1876, is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. At around 1,300 acres it is bigger than Central Park in New York. Today Forest Park attracts more than 12 million visitors a year.” https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/forest-park.cfm#:~:text=Forest%20Park%2C%20officially%20opened%20to,scenic%20backdrop%20to%20our%20city.

Do students go to the park at night? DD does not. But she runs through it regularly, by herself, during the day. People are everywhere, enjoying the park’s amenities. She does stay on main paths though, and does not veer off into more isolated areas. It’s all about situational awareness, just as it is in any city. (There’s also a huge hot-air balloon festival/race in Forest Park every fall, which many students enjoy. https://greatforestparkballoonrace.com/ )

To the east of Forest Park is the free St. Louis Zoo. It’s currently decorated for the holidays and DD sent me some pictures when she stopped there on her run yesterday. Plenty of adults and preschoolers were in the pictures, visiting the zoo, even though the temps were near freezing. I’m not sure what animals are outside now except for the penguins (which DD sent me a picture of), but it must be an attraction, even in the winter.

North of campus are beautiful, historic neighborhoods and then a dining/shopping area called “The Loop” is north of that. WashU built very nice student housing on The Loop. DD lived there this summer, while doing research in a lab on campus, and had zero concerns about safety. She biked to/from campus every day, even though she had her car on campus during the summer. There’s underground garage parking accessible only via a card key and a 24-hour security guard at the desk of the secure building. People are out at all hours and it’s a quaint area.

North of The Loop is additional student housing and some apartments. We know a student who lived in this area and he loved it, but DH and I would draw the line on that for DD. We would not let her live farther north than The Loop, because you’re starting to run into city issues at that point.

West of campus is the city of Clayton. I think WashU is technically located in “University City, MO,” but Clayton is immediately adjacent and these suburbs run together. Clayton is one of the most affluent areas in the state. DD also runs through Clayton, which seems to consist mainly of beautiful homes and upscale shopping/dining. Again, she does not run at night. She will occasionally rent a car on campus and go shopping or get a manicure in Clayton. (Campus car rental is something like $5/hour, though scheduling in advance is important because there are a limited number of cars available.)

South of campus is another university that recently closed. WashU purchased it and plans to expand its campus there. Talk among students is that WashU plans to build an athletic complex on the land, but I have no idea if this is true. WashU’s current football stadium was home to the 1904 Summer Olympics and is on the National Register of Historic Places, so it cannot be meaningfully altered.

WashU actually has many successful athletic teams. Its women’s soccer team just won the 2024 D3 national championships. I’d personally love to see WashU build a football/athletic complex on its new land, but that will be long after DD graduates so it won’t affect her. Our Class of 2027 highschooler also plans to apply to WashU, but he’s not as academically strong as DD was, so I’m not hopeful he’ll be admitted.

South beyond the newly-acquired university campus is basically highway. South of that, the area begins to look like suburbia, some of it fine and some run down, and parts of it I would not drive in at night. There’s also a wonderful area called The Hill in that vicinity and we did go there at night for authentic Italian cuisine - but we were in a group. Like any other city, it’s important to take reasonable precautions.

Campus itself seems completely safe. DD seldom leaves it during the week, except to run. She is on campus at all hours and does walk alone on campus at night - though students are always out, so she is not “alone” when walking from the library or gym. There’s a police station on campus, directly across from Freshman/Sophomore housing. There are two police dogs, which frequently interact with students. The buildings are secure.

DD grew up in a lovely, safe community and I’m aware of our family’s privilege in that. But I cannot fathom how WashU would be considered “unsafe.” DD has only been into St. Louis-proper a handful of times - occasionally with us to do tourist-y things and a few times with friends to attend Cardinals games. There’s a city metro (students get a free pass) and I do believe there’s a consensus not to ride it alone at any time and not to ride it at night, even in a group. So DD has only been on the metro once or twice.

I should add that I really like the city of St. Louis and feel it’s underrated. We visited this summer and had a great time, though we took the same basic precautions we'd take when visiting any city or location that we aren’t familiar with.

DD has never mentioned anyone she knows being mugged or accosted (and she would have, if it had happened). I also follow the local news on my socials, simply because I want to know what’s going on in proximity to DD. I don’t see anything that isn’t typical of our own major city.

Like any college or university, there are pros and cons to WashU. (One con is the price of on-campus underground parking, which is why DD only had her car at college over the summer and not during the academic year.) However, I’d never put “safety” in the cons category. It’s simply important to be aware of one’s surroundings and not take chances that one would not take in any other city.

The students I've met, along with the folks of St. Louis we've encountered, are unfailingly nice. To me, this is an important component of safety. The area does not strike me as a place where most people would turn away, or fail to act, if there was a problem. Obviously, this does not apply to the entire city - because crime in certain parts of St. Louis a real issue. It's just that I would never send any of my children to college in an area I did not consider safe, and WashU seems perfectly OK to me.

Best of luck to your DC in the college app process!
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics