MD schools that are in unsafe areas?

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radioactive15

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What MD schools have a reputation of not being very safe? Not the school, per se, maybe the area surrounding it, etc.


Temple comes to mind first . Are there any others you know about/have seen?

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Columbia - Harlem.
SUNY Downstate - Flatbush, and Bed-Stuy not far off.
 
I know this is all subjective but I think SUNY Downstate area is really nice, especially with the huge influx of white people and the gentrification of that area. It all depends how street smart you are, what I consider safe you might not
 
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I think Rush and UIC are in relatively safe areas, but just near sketchy areas, imo

Definitely Downstate and Tulane. Yaleish. LSU-NOLA. Hopkins. Wayne State and MSU are in Detroit, but I don't know what the surrounding area is like. Cooper is in Camden, so definitely sketch. St. Louis has a lot of crime, so perhaps WashU and SLU. Rutgers- Newark and Einstein.

Rochester is another perhaps because I know Rochester has a lot of crime and I know undergrads there who had some concerns.
 
You guys must be pretty sheltered if you think these areas are bad
 
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Seeing most of the schools I apply to in this thread.
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Rush and UIC are in areas that can go either way. Few if any students live in the immediate area of Loyola and the close areas: Oak Park, Forest Park, Riverside are very nice areas. Hyde Park where UofC is located is considered okay, getting in and out of there can be dicey. Even the Gold Coast where Northwestern is has had huge increases in violence recently. But like everywhere else, in Chicago and the suburbs you have to be aware of your surroundings.


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UM and FIU aren't in particularly safe areas. Miami area has some serious violent crime.

FAU in Boca Raton takes the cake for safest/nicest area I could think of. Their school looks like a resort lol
 
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I know this is all subjective but I think SUNY Downstate area is really nice, especially with the huge influx of white people and the gentrification of that area. It all depends how street smart you are, what I consider safe you might not
I've lived in more dangerous areas, but Downstate is near the highest gun crime areas in NYC. My NYPD relatives were annoyed that I'm choosing to live near campus, which isn't the best sign. The area immediately around campus feels safe enough to not have to be worried all the time, but calling it safe would be a stretch. Safe relative to Englewood or Back of the Yards in Chicago? Yeah, maybe. Safe compared to Manhattan and almost every other place in the country? Nah.

I don't think it is too unsafe a place to live, but I wouldn't call it safe
 
You guys must be pretty sheltered if you think these areas are bad

depends what you mean by bad.

I'd define an area as unsafe if I don't feel comfortable walking alone at night (and I'm a reasonably big guy) or if people who lock their doors still get robbed often. But hey, I guess that's my [instert socio-economic demographic] privilege talking.

Doesn't need to be downtown baghdad to be unsafe
 
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New Haven is great these days. Very low crime compared to 5 years ago and drug problem way down. No reason at all to be concerned about the shady stuff that goes on 10-15 blocks beyond the hospital; no reason to ever be there and they sure as hell don't come to Yale. Source: I'm a CT native

I've lived in more dangerous areas, but Downstate is near the highest gun crime areas in NYC. My NYPD relatives were annoyed that I'm choosing to live near campus, which isn't the best sign. The area immediately around campus feels safe enough to not have to be worried all the time, but calling it safe would be a stretch. Safe relative to Englewood or Back of the Yards in Chicago? Yeah, maybe. Safe compared to Manhattan and almost every other place in the country? Nah.

I don't think it is too unsafe a place to live, but I wouldn't call it safe
"If I get shot, bring me to Kings County" was and has been the mantra for Brooklyn cops. East New York is rough and Kings County is not #1 in the country for penetrating trauma every year at random. It is no coincidence that the EM dept is the undisputed best dept at Downstate. It's not a war zone but it's a pretty rough spot for a school. Great clinical experience though, couldn't imagine the things you do there
 
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I've lived in more dangerous areas, but Downstate is near the highest gun crime areas in NYC. My NYPD relatives were annoyed that I'm choosing to live near campus, which isn't the best sign. The area immediately around campus feels safe enough to not have to be worried all the time, but calling it safe would be a stretch. Safe relative to Englewood or Back of the Yards in Chicago? Yeah, maybe. Safe compared to Manhattan and almost every other place in the country? Nah.

I don't think it is too unsafe a place to live, but I wouldn't call it safe
You could say the same for almost 3/4 of Brooklyn. All nice areas have some bad areas surrounding it, Im not saying it doesnt have crime but that doesnt make it un-safe to go to school. Coming from who knows the area well
 
It's hardcore to not be scared in a metropolitan area?
Thinking an area is unsafe doesn't mean you're scared. I've been in plenty of dangerous areas unafraid....and then one time I had a gun put to my head in the middle of the day. Not being afraid didn't stop that from happening. And now I'm going to med school at Downstate because I'm still not worried. I just know the difference between safe and unsafe and areas where you can be relaxed and areas where you need to keep your guards up.
 
New Haven is great these days. Very low crime compared to 5 years ago and drug problem way down. No reason at all to be concerned about the shady stuff that goes on 10-15 blocks beyond the hospital; no reason to ever be there and they sure as hell don't come to Yale. Source: I'm a CT native


"If I get shot, bring me to Kings County" was and has been the mantra for Brooklyn cops. East New York is rough and Kings County is not #1 in the country for penetrating trauma every year at random. It is no coincidence that the EM dept is the undisputed best dept at Downstate. It's not a war zone but it's a pretty rough spot for a school. Great clinical experience though, couldn't imagine the things you do there
You are talking about a huge swat of land, of course there are areas in Brooklyn that are crappy that lead to alot of shootings, but the area around the school is one of the most gentrified areas in Brooklyn and is perfectly safe to live. IF you ever start doing residency at Brookdale hospital then you have to worry
 
When I've been to Wayne/the surrounding area I've been pretty comfortable around campus, but like any big city you do have to be smart, know where you're going, not wander too far in the wrong direction, etc.

Also, I haven't been to MSU COM or CHM, so I can't comment on the safety of the area, but they're definitely in East Lansing, which is over an hour from Detroit.

I'll also second the posts about Loyola - I visited a couple times and the students I talked to all made it sound like the hospital campus itself is fine, but the surrounding area is iffy.
http://www.com.msu.edu/Admissions/3-Sites.htm You get to choose the site at which you do your pre-clinicals and one choice is Detroit.
 
New Haven is great these days. Very low crime compared to 5 years ago and drug problem way down. No reason at all to be concerned about the shady stuff that goes on 10-15 blocks beyond the hospital; no reason to ever be there and they sure as hell don't come to Yale. Source: I'm a CT native

Hahaha I literally only made that comment about Yale just to see if you would respond. Forgive me, I'm on a long road trip and have run out of things to do.



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The list is pretty long and will change depending on your definition of "unsafe" as there are varying degrees. Just in the northeast there are plenty. It's true that gentrification has improved some of these areas, particularly in NYC. During daytime hours all these places try to have strong security in place to varying degrees to prevent any problems.
Columbia
SUNY Downstate
Albert Einstein
Temple
BU
Yale
Hopkins
UMaryland
 
The list is pretty long and will change depending on your definition of "unsafe" as there are varying degrees. Just in the northeast there are plenty. It's true that gentrification has improved some of these areas, particularly in NYC. During daytime hours all these places try to have strong security in place to varying degrees to prevent any problems.
Columbia
SUNY Downstate
Albert Einstein
Temple
BU
Yale
Hopkins
UMaryland

Really BU? Yale seems like it's better than it used to be.
 
Oop, I stand corrected. I didn't apply DO so that's what I get for not doing my research lol. Editing my first post to reflect this.
No problem, I only knew because I googled searched "med school in detroit" for this thread.
 
Hahaha I literally only made that comment about Yale just to see if you would respond. Forgive me, I'm on a long road trip and have run out of things to do.
Pics or it didn't happen
 
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Sourcing a huff post piece lost you credibility. Have you lived in Boston? Because the tremont mass ave area where BUSM is no worse than normal lower class urban areas.

trained and lived there.... i'm not sure what the rest of your statement means because BUSM is not on tremont ave....?

I agree that the huffington post is a piece of garbage but if you had actually clicked on the link (which you clearly didn't) you'd see that it was actually a rebuttal by the dean of the school of public health

Hopkins is not unsafe, lol. I go to Morgan State and over here is relatively unsafe, but as far as Baltimore goes, not that bad. Now, UMaryland sure, but most school located near downtown in whatever city are going to be unsafe as that is where crime is usually centered. I also just spent six weeks at BU and it really isn't unsafe unless you aren't being smart, but I'm from Oakland so it takes a bit to make me fear for my safety.

Of course "being smart" is the best way to be safe in any of these places but all these areas are by definition unsafe.

Don't get me wrong. The fact that these places are "unsafe" has not deterred me. I have lived/worked in or near 4 or 5 of the places I have on my list. But we need to call a spade a spade.
 
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You guys must be pretty sheltered if you think these areas are bad

They tell you on Temple's interview day that they installed floodlight street lamps on the campus and that security regularly escorts people to their cars and the SEPTA station after dark. That part of Philly is really bad, and I don't consider myself particularly sheltered.
 
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I'm not sure what definition of "unsafe" we're using here but at least in my city, AFAIK the biggest danger to students is other students, it's not the "sketchy neighborhood."

I mean maybe if you have a history with heroin and someone walking up to you saying "I'm selling" while you're on the way to the bus is a huge temptation for you then maybe the area around Rush would pose you a problem but for all the dangers in Chicago, if you're privileged enough to be a med student, your privilege follows you through the neighborhood. It's not New York in the 70s, people aren't mugging tourists in droves. It's network violence, which is not to minimize the impact or importance of it or to blame the people whose lives get destroyed by it, but you have to understand even if you move to a "sketchy" area of Chicago you're still at way less risk than if you'd lived your whole life there because of that.
 
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trained and lived there.... i'm not sure what the rest of your statement means because BUSM is not on tremont ave....?

I agree that the huffington post is a piece of garbage but if you had actually clicked on the link (which you clearly didn't) you'd see that it was actually a rebuttal by the dean of the school of public health



Of course "being smart" is the best way to be safe in any of these places but all these areas are by definition unsafe.

Don't get me wrong. The fact that these places are "unsafe" has not deterred me. I have lived/worked in or near 4 or 5 of the places I have on my list. But we need to call a spade a spade.
I know it's not on tremont... That's the beginning of the disparity from the northern part of south end...
 
They tell you on Temple's interview day that they installed floodlight street lamps on the campus and that security regularly escorts people to their cars and the SEPTA station after dark. That part of Philly is really bad, and I don't consider myself particularly sheltered.
Agreed, the few blocks around the med school/hospital campus are fine, but the surrounding neighborhoods are among the most dangerous parts of the city crime wise.
 
The area around Hofstra is hood AF - I don't know if it's been gentrified at all since my community college days across the road from Hofstra, but god damn it was hood AF.
 
Wayne State, hands down.


Wayne State University routinely wins awards for lowest crime rates when compared to all other Michigan universities like MSU, U of M, Oakland, etc.
Just 25 minutes from Detroit are some of the wealthiest and diverse suburban populations in the US with cities that rank among the safest in the US which is where a majority of commuters come from.

Yes, between the university radius and the aforementioned northern suburbs are two or three of the nation's most dangerous intersections but in order to encounter them, you'll have to go out of out to go places the school neither requires nor recommends you do. In order to get from the university to the suburbs, you travel on I-75 or 96 which both bypass all these dangerous areas.

I used to routinely walk home past midnight at one point during my studies and I could literally look around and see a police car many of those times. Wayne State is not monitored by Detroit police, but WAYNE STATE police. Once, I even got pulled over for an expired license plate sticker. I was driving all summer in my home town during the summer and was never pulled over for that.

For those not familiar with Detroit, a general rule of them is the downtown and "midtown" (hospital, museums, Wayne State) are safe areas. Going outwards until you hit about 8 mile is where you'll find the trouble spots. After that though, you'll start encountering pretty well off suburbs.


Just in 2015:

Yes, some of these articles are local promotion, but Crain's is actually routinely critical of WSU as a whole and the Wayne.edu one is required to be accurate .

http://police.wayne.edu/crime_stats.php?year=2015
https://wayne.edu/newsroom/release/...op-50-safest-college-campuses-in-nation-5668\
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/articl...isted-among-safest-campuses-in-america-but-is
http://www.dailydetroit.com/2015/08/05/wayne-state-named-one-50-safest-college-campuses/
 
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Google the name of any school and "Clery" and "crime" and you'll get a report of campus safety for the past few years. Every school is required to report and publicize crime statistics as a matter of federal law.
 
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NJMS, JHU, Temple, & USC have the sketchiest locations but as long as you stay within a block or two of campus you should be safe.


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NJMS in Newark. I'm doing a SMP here. So far 2 students from the Rutgers undergrad campus have been murdered by locals WITHIN SITE of my apartment. One was selling drugs and the other was followed home after leaving the library late night.

Also on a lesser note my car was broken into and radio stolen. All this within the past semester.
 
Rush and UIC are in areas that can go either way. Few if any students live in the immediate area of Loyola and the close areas: Oak Park, Forest Park, Riverside are very nice areas. Hyde Park where UofC is located is considered okay, getting in and out of there can be dicey. Even the Gold Coast where Northwestern is has had huge increases in violence recently. But like everywhere else, in Chicago and the suburbs you have to be aware of your surroundings.


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I'm from Chicagoland - Chicago has one of the worst reputations of any global city, but it's really segregated crime that occurs in a number of problem areas of the city. Hyde Park (UChicago neighborhood) is actually quite safe when compared to the rest of the city. I wouldn't walk around drunk with earbuds in at 2AM, but it's not bad at all. Northwestern's campus in Evanston/nearby Wilmette is quite nice and about as safe as the suburbs (where I grew up), which are some of the safest places in the US. Here in the burbs you could fall asleep on your lawn and worry more about cops finding you than anybody else. There are rougher areas and my observation is that, when crime is bleeding out into a suburb, the policing of borders and highway exits in the surrounding localities intercepts the 'foreign riffraff'. Maywood, on the other hand, is a bit scary by comparison. During the day it's not terrifying but violence is familiar to anybody who lives there. UIC has all the date rape of a college town plus the firearm spillover from Indiana-Chicagoland, which falls short of an epidemic but still for some reason doesn't terrify the droves of IL residents I know attended for undergrad.
 
Northwestern is in Evanston but the med school is on the north side of Chicago! So not sure we're your Wilmette comment fits. Bottom line: awareness of your surroundings is important every place.


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What you can glean from this thread:

1) Be smart and stay alert to your surroundings.

2) No one can agree on any intra-city boundaries.
 
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Loyola for sure

And in the same general vicinity: Rush, UIC, UChicago.

As someone who's from Chicago, this is a bit innacurate. Loyola is actually in a pretty upscale area. Also, Rush, UIC, and UChicago are nowhere near the same vicinity as Loyola, totally different parts of town. UIC and Rush are neighbors, and the area is constantly undergoing renovations and is improving by the year. But yes, some parts of UIC and Rush campus aren't the safest areas. UofChicago's area is the least safe of them though.
 
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They tell you on Temple's interview day that they installed floodlight street lamps on the campus and that security regularly escorts people to their cars and the SEPTA station after dark. That part of Philly is really bad, and I don't consider myself particularly sheltered.

Flying into Philly at night is always amusing because both Temple campuses are lit up like the sun with floodlights. I had a job in that neighborhood years ago and honestly it's so well patrolled that you're probably safer there than walking around Society Hill after dark.
 
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