For those of you with a JHU interview, would the area around JHU and the high crime rate prevent you from attending if you were admitted?
JHU crime
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I'm admittedly biased, but is it out of the ordinary for major medical centers to be in areas of elevated crime? Think Columbia, Yale, etc.
Also, there are a few key points to keep in mind before you worry about perceptions of elevated crime:
0) I disagree with your fundamental assumption that Hopkins experiences high crime; it is more equivalent to a perpetual spot of calm in an otherwise stormy sea.
1) You don't have to live at the medical center. Many Hopkins students live in nice apartment buildings off of the Metro or quaint neighborhoods blocks from the medical campus.
2) Most major medical centers have hospitals in areas of high crime. You will almost invariably spend time at these hospitals, be it during third and fourth year or earlier.
3) Areas known for high crime often develop a strong security presence in response.
4) If you live on campus in Reed Hall, you quite literally can walk from your bedroom to your classroom without stepping one foot outdoors, protected all the while by Hopkins' (rather redundant) security perimeter.
Also, there are a few key points to keep in mind before you worry about perceptions of elevated crime:
0) I disagree with your fundamental assumption that Hopkins experiences high crime; it is more equivalent to a perpetual spot of calm in an otherwise stormy sea.
1) You don't have to live at the medical center. Many Hopkins students live in nice apartment buildings off of the Metro or quaint neighborhoods blocks from the medical campus.
2) Most major medical centers have hospitals in areas of high crime. You will almost invariably spend time at these hospitals, be it during third and fourth year or earlier.
3) Areas known for high crime often develop a strong security presence in response.
4) If you live on campus in Reed Hall, you quite literally can walk from your bedroom to your classroom without stepping one foot outdoors, protected all the while by Hopkins' (rather redundant) security perimeter.
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high crime rate and poor population in baltimore in general leads to better well-rounded patient population for medical rotations (more traumatic and unusual cases), but dont worry you'll get the rich to fly in for JHU treatment also.
they have a whole pamphlet dedicated to how they've reduced crime to negligible amounts in the last 5 years right around the medical school campus.
there is NO WAY i would turn down JHU because of crime. i dont think i would turn down JHU for harvard.
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such is life, crime is life, you could ask the same about living in an area in which there is a high propensity of automobile accidents if you yourself travel to school. I wouldn't limit myself to what life's experiences are. Granted, I'll have to be more wary of my choices when it comes to self-protection and walking at night, but if you're going to shelter yourself from the real urban world in medical school, odds are, when you are placed in residency, or while practicing, you'll have something else coming if you are unprepared.
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Sure, it'll be a bit more dangerous than you're used to, but as long as you aren't an idiot about your safety you'll be fine. Most gun shot wounds I saw in Shock Trauma in Baltimore involved drug deals gone bad anyway, so um don't deal drugs.
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The East Baltimore campus may not be in the greatest area of town, but it's tight knit. It's a well-secured campus with security guards in every corner surrounding the campus and the environment of that campus is awesome. JHH and affiliated buildings, JHBSPH, JHU SON, JHU SOM, Hampton House, Welch Library, etc. are all clustered in the area. There is a well-equipped fitness facility (Cooley), although a subpar residence hall (Reed Hall - old, needs serious renovations). I spent a year at the SPH for my Master's and lived in Reed Hall (you need a car to really enjoy Baltimore). There is a shuttle that takes you to/from the Homewood campus (undergrad), and they got new shuttles (much nicer than the yellow school buses they had previously used) while I was there. I'd go back anytime to study there. Great campus, great environment, awesome faculty and students. Charles Village (adjacent to Homewood) is a nice area with some decent restaurants. Also, the new Charles Village Housing for the undergrad is supposed to be pretty nice. They were just in the beginning stages of building it while I was there, but it's completed now. The museum is right next to the main campus, and the shuttle makes stops between the E. Balt. campus and Homewood. Takes you right to Mt. Vernon area, close to downtown and filled with shops and restaurants. I never felt insecure either on the E. Balt. campus or walking to the adjacent areas (daytime or with someone at night). Students do a lot of volunteering in the area surrounding the E. Balt. campus. They have some nice duplexes that are newly renovated that students rent.
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The actual campus is very secure, there is security everywhere. The area within a one-mile vicinity is certainly not the best, but it's more a common-sense approach: don't go walking around late at night, etc. Also, 95+% of the crime is by repeat offenders and people in the drug trade, which hopefully isn't medical students.
It gets a worse rap than it probably should. Like I said, the campus raises no concerns about safety, which is the most important aspect.
It gets a worse rap than it probably should. Like I said, the campus raises no concerns about safety, which is the most important aspect.
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Not every medical school is an a very urban environment. Are you saying that people who go to less urban medical schools are less prepared for residency or one's ultimate career? I am not sure if you are already a med student or just applicant (i.e. what experience you are drawing on to make that statement), but that may be a bit of a stretch (and I go to a relatively urban med school).
Also, out of curiosity (residency), people have mentioned that the area right outside of the hospital is rather seedy. Is it safe to drive through late at night? Not trying to be paranoid or anything, but I was curious because there are definite parts of where I live now that are really not safe to even drive though at night (luckily not by the med center or campus though).
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No i am not asserting that students not in an urban setting are more unprepared than a rural one. I'm just saying that if you plan on attending medical school in a crime ridden urbanity, there may be a good chance your residency will be in a similar setting, and if your practice is geared towards treating patients as a product of their environment, you may be slightly more prepared, from experience with that community. Granted, that's a grandeur, and sweeping statement to make, but I think theres some merit in students who serve a constant type of community from med school to residency to practice versus one who shifts from varied setting to setting. I would expect a rural doctor, who had rural roots who studied and trained in a rural area to be slightly better equiped/prepared simply on the sheer knowledge and experience with a certain community versus an unfamiliar one. My main point was that familiarity with a community, and depending on speciality, may serve a very useful purpose. I do apologize if I purveyed any offense in my assertion.
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I've lived at JHU for 6 years.
There is no security perimeter at JHMI. There's a guard posted inside a little box maybe every 2 blocks, but there are way too many small streets and pathways between buildings for them to monitor, and there are no security checkpoints or ID checks - Baltimore inner city community can waltz through it and usually do just to get to where they are going, or to look for trouble.
Even with all this in mind, like Ambiptosis said, all the good hospitals will be in this sort of area, and that it IS JHU, and the education there (IMO) is worth the risk - it just takes some common sense and precaution to stay safe. If you're walking around campus with your wallet out, chatting on your cell with your bling reflecting every bit of light to yourself, you deserve what's coming to you. Just have some street smarts and you will be fine.
I'd have to disagree. JHU puts up security reports every week for both medical and undergrad campuses. There are usually muggings every week, but usually no one really gets hurt unless they do something stupid. We've had a stabbing and a couple murders in the last several years, so security has been a little beefed up. It's a big problem because Hopkins (both undergrad and medical campuses) has been expanding. The inner city and the university life are starting to clash more, despite added security.
There are better places to live - like Mount Vernon or Charles Village, but relatively speaking they aren't any less dangerous than anywhere else, just a little bit nicer in terms of homes and restaurants. And you still have to traverse through dangerous area to get to the schools.
Hopkins security is highly lacking. Comparing it to Loyola (a community college down the street), it has much less - they have an iron fence circling the campus, and their security guards carry firearms. The security guards at JHU are usually retired officers, servicemen, etc who get basic training and basic response equipment. Their jurisdiction is limited. And the inner city criminals know this.
There is no security perimeter at JHMI. There's a guard posted inside a little box maybe every 2 blocks, but there are way too many small streets and pathways between buildings for them to monitor, and there are no security checkpoints or ID checks - Baltimore inner city community can waltz through it and usually do just to get to where they are going, or to look for trouble.
Even with all this in mind, like Ambiptosis said, all the good hospitals will be in this sort of area, and that it IS JHU, and the education there (IMO) is worth the risk - it just takes some common sense and precaution to stay safe. If you're walking around campus with your wallet out, chatting on your cell with your bling reflecting every bit of light to yourself, you deserve what's coming to you. Just have some street smarts and you will be fine.
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Thanks for the objective post.
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Actually I was quite surpised when I volunteered in Shock Trauma I was expecting to see tons of guns/knives/etc fights and stuff. But mostly I saw car accidents and falls. The minority was gunshot wounds and fights.
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Car accidents, falls, and construction were the bulk of what I saw; for violence, more GSW than anything else, the beatings, then stabbings. I guess it reflects the realities of how most people get hurt (not by the willfull actions of others, but rather by the hazards of existence).
So keep the violence in perspective OP, you're more likely to end up badly hurt driving somewhere than getting mugged in Baltimore, even if you live in a bad area.
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One guy I saw got busted for drugs and was being pulled over by the police. So instead of pulling his car over and getting arrested, he jumped out of his car and jumped over 100 feet off the highway into an enbankment. We got the call and were like ummmm over 100 feet fall??? And when they brought him in he was CONSCIOUS and TALKING. It was craaaaaazy. Kind of off topic, but just thought I'd share 🙂
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It could always mean the locals are better shots and send their victims directly to the coroner.😀
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Baltimore doesn't call itself "America's Greatest City" for nothing!
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Nothing like the charm of the 9mm, teaches metric and romances your internal organs at the same time.
Actually I have heard this argument made many times by academic physicians. More urban = more diverse cases = better training. Take it for what you will.
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Wow, the strangest criminal one I had was this guy who car jacked an SUV in front of the cops, got chased, took a turn too fast and rolled it over. Since he hit his head he got sent to TRU for evaluation, he was sooo angry he was under arrest and took it out on us, verbally since he was restrained, but he did have a violent disposition. He had something like 20 different people's credit cards and drivers licenses in his wallet.
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Or a variation on the theme: More urban = more understaffed = med students get to do more = better training.
I would go there no matter what - I want to see what other people think.
Haha that too.
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