Hey guys... I've been at SLU SOM for two years; so, I thought I'd add in my two cents. First of all, Saint Louis is no where near as dangerous as people try to make it sound. I'm super skittish at night in general, and I have no reservations about walking around at night with a couple friends. Really, just don't be stupid (walk around by yourself drunk while flashing money, etc... other than that, it's random crime that you're going to get in any city), and stay away from North City, North County, and East Saint Louis (which is an entirely separate city in a separate state across the river). Also, the student above who mentioned "unsafe" was referring to the City Museum, not the city of STL. The City Museum is AWESOME, but yes, I'm sure people get hurt there... the place is a giant adult jungle gym (we had our med school prom there my first year).
For the person asking why the med school and city are great, there are many, many reasons. I have loved every minute of my time at SLU so far, and I couldn't imagine being happier any where else (and I'm from California... you won't hear many from Cali who are happy to be out of the state). The professors and administration are awesome and genuinely care about students. They always want student input on classes (the change to pass-fail a few years back was completely student-driven), they will work with any student who is struggling, and their office doors are always open. The feel of the school is really different than you're going to get other places. There's a sense of community among students. There isn't any one in my class I wouldn't feel comfortable sitting down and chatting with. Since we're on pass-fail, people aren't cut-throat (in fact, people would stay hours after their anatomy dissections to help others, and we get bombarded by e-mails from people sharing websites they found, charts they made, etc.). The campus is pretty (especially in spring... they plant new flowers like once a month), and they're constantly expanding/renovating the med school buildings. As for the city, there's a ton to do (a lot of it free), and there's something for everyone. Anyway, sorry for the long message. If anyone has questions, feel free to PM me.