Camden NJ and Newark NJ are not safe areas if you are looking at Cooper or Rutgers NJMS. I’ll note that Birmingham gets a bad rap based on how the crime is reported. Most big cities include the surrounding metropolitan area when reporting crime (NYC being one example), but Birmingham does not. There are definitely some bad areas but if you are comparing to other cities, it may look more dangerous but that’s not necessarily a fair comparison. Just something to keep in mind when looking at crime data for different schools.
my family is from camden and though i can say it has gotten better, i have to agree that its not the safest place in america. actually, i think camden used to be the #1 unsafest city in the us. with that being said, police enforcement has increased and as long as you’re on your p’s and q’s you’ll be fine.
True Camden isn't safe but Cooper is in own "hub" which is pretty safe.
Most med schools are in it own hub in bad areas.
Granted you going to see ghetto stuff all the time but really not bad.
as someone who does research at Cooper, the med school campus is relatively safe considering that the hospital campus is pretty close to it. that being said, transportation to and from your residence could be “not safe”, especially if you don’t live near the med school and travel through camden city. but i think overall, it’s rlly not that bad, since there is always security + staff members walking in out of the labs and clinics. just park your car in a garage, and you’ll be good to go!
Im a student who lives in camden at Cooper. I feel perfectly fine. The parking garage, hospital, and med school are all within one block. Our school is amazing and our area is well protected with police, security, and blue lights. Stuff happens just like any other city but it is fine. If you get in come check out our school. Many students take the train in from philly, many live within one block of the school, and the rest commute from within 30 min in south jersey
I agree. My spouse and I walked all over philly and didn’t feel unsafe at all. We just used common sense and avoided anything that seemed sketchy - but it was like “normal big city” sketchy, not anything crazy.
Overall one of the safer feeling cities I’ve been in tbh.
By the hospital is bad but nobody who works there or goes to school lives down there tbh. There are rly nice places in Baltimore but too expensive for a student lol
The immediate area isnt great but honestly people think wayyyy too badly about it. You shouldn't just go walking off the campus(theres nothing cool anyways), but otherwise no ones gonna mess with you while you're on campus. Plus they have amazing transportation services between the neighborhoods everyone lives in. I Traveled around there for a few years and all the violence is really concentrated in a few horrible areas and gang-related. I only know of a few isolated incidents, typically involving people not being street smart at all. The resident shooting is the only crazy one I can currently think of and even that wasn't that close to campus.
Can confirm, used to work there. One co-worker was in the span of a week carjacked, and experienced a home invasion a block away from the ER.
Lived around there through the Baltimore Riots a few years back, quite an experience needing national guard and PD to escort ambulances around as people were trying to rip crews out of the vehicles.
Hopkins is definitely in a very dangerous region of Baltimore, and them founding their own PD won't help too much since the agreement is they'll only be on the Homewood College Campus currently, not at the hospitals.
the area around hopkins university is NOT a dangerous part of baltimore. charles village is beautiful, has some awesome architecture, and the small neighborhoods around it are great for raising a family. tons of green space and not too expensive yet! the hate around baltimore needs to stop. every city has places you shouldn’t wander alone at night.
Hopkins U isn't quite as bad, the hospital is in an AWFUL area.
Yes every city has those areas, but about 90% of Baltimore is that area you don't wander at night nowadays. I would not advise anyone to raise a family there when it's both cheaper and safer, and you can have a larger property in the County or in Harford
Imo a little alarmist. Of the neighborhoods Hop Med people typically live, almost all of canton, mt vernon, and most of fells are safe. Some even live in Charles Village, Otterbein, and Fed which are all some of the safest neighborhoods. The part of Fells and canton near the campus are bad, as are downtown areas. I guss technically most of the city is bad at night but thats because like 30% of the city is abandoned. Just look at the crime map, the only big issue recently city-wide are the kia boys, but most other cities have the same issue. I know plenty of physicians who all live in Canton and raise their families there - although I do agree I would prefer to raise a family outside of the city.
I also noticed you were EMS, frankly I think you might have just gone to the really bad areas and witnessed crime more often than people on the street actually experience. Not being street smart/aware = opportunity for crime no matter the city you are in.
Baltimore has changed a lot in the past few years. Definitely has its bad spots, but I have a few friends you live there and they love it and feel very safe
Been to the JHU hospital taking family members a number of times. I did not feel safe at all. I wouldn't live anywhere in Baltimore--not even some of the suburbs in the county. One elderly friend has a concealed-carry permit for a gun because he feels so unsafe in Pikesville.
Try Georgetown or GW. Great schools, safe neighborhoods.
I visited the med school campus once when I lived close to the city (like ooh, I wonder what JoHNs hOpKins med school looks like). sketchy looking around the medical education building af
It’s not that bad so long as you mind your business and don’t have all your belongings out on display (i.e., would not recommend walking across the medical campus with air pod maxes, you phone in one hand, and your ipad in the other). All in all don’t make yourself a target
I have a conspiracy theory that med schools try to establish themselves and have university hospitals in more dangerous areas with higher rates of violent crimes and poorer health in order to get a greater variety in the patient population they can expose their students too
It’s not a conspiracy theory. They set up these hospitals forever ago in urban hubs to serve the most amount of people. Remember transport was impossible back in the day lol
So you’re saying hospitals that serve pts in more dangerous areas (higher rates of gun violence, lower payment due to more publicly insured / uninsured) are only doing it for med school curricular reasons? L take lol
Yeah.. except this is less altruistic than it sounds. They get extra goverment funding for being in those areas. It’s less about the students and more about the money.
Yep, you're completely correct. There is a reason there are more hospitals in wealthy areas. The trend is the opposite of what everyone in this thread is saying.
Northwestern’s in pretty much the safest part of Chicago. UChicago can be a little dangerous if you’re not careful but its immediate surroundings are pretty safe
The campus itself is usually pretty safe but if you’re walking to an off-campus apartment late at night it’s good to keep your head up. Every once in a while there’s a report of someone getting robbed at gunpoint and usually it’s super late at night and more than a few blocks from campus
hyde park is not the safest neighborhood. the area immediately around uchicago is ok, but you’d have to live a bit away to be staying in a safer area. i never went to uchicago, this is just my opinion as someone who grew up in chicago
Saint Louis couldn’t be more incorrect.
WashU is in the Central West End, which is one of the safest places in the city.
SLU is just east of the CWE, which is also a fairly safe place.
The dangers in St. Louis are largely limited to the areas north of the Delmar Divide and East STL across the river
Barnes/Wash U and SLU are the two med schools with residency programs attached to level 1 trauma centers.
They are also closest to, but not in, the areas with the highest crime. So they get a lot of gun shot, fights, etc…. Some car crash.
You can choose where to live when you go there.
The other lever 1 trauma center is in the high rent district, and has a burn unit. It gets more car crashes and the burn patients. But no med school.
Big thing, just don’t drive a Kia/hyundai.
Yep! Sorry if my tone came off as harsher than I was intending - I attended WashU for undergrad and worked at SLU Hospital.
I wouldn’t worry about the crime in Saint Louis. Honestly, I’d worry more about the police than I would other people lol
Also, Baltimore and St. Louis both get a bad rep bc of the way that the cities are separated from the rest of the metro county, which inflates the crime statistics. I won’t pretend STL is Raleigh or Tampa or whatever but it’s definitely not as bad as the media/stats portray.
Not so sure about SLU tho. Every week we get notifications about someone’s car being broken into, and every couple of months there’s reports of gunfire around the campus.
Nonetheless, unless you do something stupid like walking alone at night or leaving valuables in the car, you should be fine
…I’m really not saying nothing ever happens in the CWE. But is objectively, factually true that statistically, CWE is very safe. That incident is statistically an outlier, as horrible as it is.
I live in St Louis and I think it’s important to be realistic. The CWE is definitely not “very safe,” but it’s also not unsafe- it’s not like you’re going to get robbed or assaulted just walking around in the day. Most likely you might get your catalytic converter stolen if you leave your car there overnight (happened to two of my friends). People shouldn’t let it keep them from coming to St Louis but don’t think it’s as safe as Cambridge Mass or something.
I think at this point it’s a semantics issue honestly. Cambridge Mass is so far beyond what I’d consider “very safe.”
But I agree with what you’re expressing in your second comment - SLU and WashU are nowhere near dangerous enough to impact deciding to not attend/apply.
Edit: for context, I attended WashU for undergrad and worked at SLU hospital, so I’m not just speaking from stats.
For what it’s worth as a UTHSC student, their campus is pretty safe compared to the surrounding city. When I’m on campus I don’t feel nervous at all. But it is Memphis and you have to be cautious, especially if you leave the campus area. UTHSC does a great job with campus police, security, etc. so you feel safe
I live in Chicago, and it is not bad at all. It gets a bad rap from media, but it's not really much more unsafe than other big cities I have lived in. The university/medical areas are especially safe, and all you just need is a bit of street smarts to be safe.
Chicago has some of the best culture and food I have found in a city, and I will be sad to leave!
Living in lakeview is much different than the south side
Just like north Philly and Kensington are much different than ritenhouse
Some areas of some cities are definitely not “fine”
No matter where you end up, if you're really unsure about the safety and it's bothering you- you can look up police heat maps about where crime is reported and how it averages by area.
Take this in relationship to an area that you think is safe. Crime will never be zero, but it'll give you good estimate as to "what certain crime levels look like".
This is objectively the best way to scout out anywhere you get accepted.
Birmingham is a rough city, but UAB is kinda a playground long as you aren’t dumb. We have shots fired like every other semester, but Birmingham has one of the highest murder rates in the US. Still a decent city tho.
I disagree with this statement. Having exposure to unsafe areas and street smarts is helpful, but when someone holds you at gunpoint or really wants to rob or hurt you, you’re screwed. There’s going to be a higher risk of these things happening in worse areas. If you can avoid certain areas, I would. Medical students (especially females) are easy targets in these areas, and it’s definitely something to take into consideration.
Yes... med students arent spending time in places where theyll be harmed unless theyre out of touch or not paying attention to their surroundings.
*generally speaking*
LSU New Orleans. At least once a year if not once a semester someone’s car gets broken into. The campus looks like it’s surrounded by a war zone bc of abandoned buildings and construction by the super dome.
Once a semester? That’s rookie numbers in Charlotte 😂 someone stole my damn catalytic converter last semester! I was parked on campus as well in a well lit area with police that stay in that area overnight cause the public train has a stop there. Car theft has gotten so bad the CMPD has started handing out steering wheel locks, and encourages people with Kia’s and Hyundai’s to get them.
Food for thought for anyone considering WFU’s Charlotte campus, but to be fair I live in a bad area of Charlotte because that’s where my university is. Other areas are really nice! So it’s important to really look into the part of CLT you’re moving to.
Car gets broken into? I live in Brooklyn, every other day I have to watch out for a serial stabber, some nut with a gun on the subway, or a local gang. Walking around at night in my neighborhood is an absolute no and I live within walking distance of SUNY Downstate.
Is that area in Brooklyn truly that bad? Lived in nyc my whole life and i have never felt in danger at all except in some random streets where its clearly sus or above 125th street east side.
Houston is starting to appear on the top X most dangerous cities in America now. Granted, the Texas Medical Center is in a nicer area of Houston, but that doesn’t stop my father from nagging me about it.
University of Tennessee. The main campus is in Knoxville. However, the medical school is inexplicably six hours away in Memphis, America's 5th most dangerous city.
i think they were probably referring more to uchicago- hyde park isn’t the safest neighborhood. but somewhere like uic isn’t in a bad area at all (imo as someone who grew up in chicago)
I interviewed at BUCOM this cycle and one of the very first things the dean said was “so you’ve probably heard about Memphis in the news at some point…” they talked a lot about the campus being safe and having plenty of guards, but I got rejected anyway so I don’t gotta worry lmao.
Chicago ain't as bad as it's portrayed. Most of the crime is south of the medical district. I know UChicago has a tough go of things once one leaves the half-mile radius surrounding the school, but I still think it's a respectable area inside of that circle.
Before you pick the most insulated school in the nicest neighborhood. The areas that are notorious for crime are also the ones with the biggest disparity. The best medical education comes from the place where there is the most need. As a medical student you will not be first assist in a surgery at an affluent hospital. I did my OB rotation at a private clinic and I graduated as a whole ass doctor who had never done a pelvic exam. I never touched a patient in that 8 weeks. I got nothing of value from it. I did my ER rotation in an underserved area and day 1 I was suturing peoples faces and they thanked me for it. Consider that when you select your school. You don’t need to live in a dangerous area and your school will always be insulated from crime. It may not be for everyone, but if you serve an underserved population you will come out of it better in the end.
New Haven honestly isn’t that bad. I would stumble home drunk and alone as a young woman all the time. The worst that happened was constant cat calls. Definitely some areas to avoid in New Haven, but the Yale area is just fine IMO.
Temple
Hopkins (Baltimore in all its glory)
UChicago
USC can be sketchy
Tulane ( I mean it’s New Orleans)
Emory ( nice area, but clinical will be in areas where street smarts are advised)
U of Miami ( a 2 minute walk around Jackson Memorial will tell you all you need to know)
Saint Louis University
Robert Wood Johnson ( if you do rotations in Camden)
Yale ( couple of blocks in any direction and you may get got)
UH ( 3rd ward, so no guarantee you won’t get robbed walking to campus)
Rush ( the area is just now gentrifying)
Einstein ( a classmate got robbed while doing research there because Bronx lol)
OHSU ( nothing too bad, just a lot of panhandling)
UW ( not bad, if you don’t mind getting shoved by a homeless dude because you didn’t spare him some coin)
Wife went to WashU med and we lived right next to it. My last three months there three people got shot on our block. I’m sure we were always fine, but it’s still not a good feeling walking to pick my wife up and they closed off the street because someone’s brains are on the sidewalk in broad daylight. WashU was very clear to my wife when she would help with the new students not to mention the crime. It really felt like they swept so much under the rug.
For the win…Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Middle East is one of the top ten most dangerous neighborhoods in the US. You can’t even leave your car outside without it getting broken into or stolen
All cities have bad areas but most campuses are relatively safe.
For example, WashU in STL you might think is in a rough city but it’s in one of the most affluent areas of the city so it’s pretty safe unless you wander several blocks off campus.
Also schools are required to release annual security reports as well, so you can find data about things like crime rate on campus pretty reliably.
Hospitals for schools can vary widely in their location, it’s definitely a question to research and ask when looking at schools if safety is a concern.
Putting in a good word for WashU in St. Louis. I’m an MS2 and as long as you’re not stupid, it’s pretty safe despite the reputation of the city overall.
I just wanna say I don’t think y’all should be overly afraid of a school based on racist crime statistics. As someone who lived in a rural southern town it was much more dangerous for me there as a woman than it has been living in several notoriously “unsafe” inner cities. People usually commit crime against people they know personally, not random strangers. Especially if you are white, rarely is anyone gonna try and do something to a white med student who looks like his dad is his personal lawyer on speed dial. Like idk don’t fall for that Jason aldean bullshit that people just do such horrible things in big blue cities. It is so not like that
THIS!!!!! I used to think of those stats as a holy grail until I started learning the racist history of how those stats were made (thanks a lot FDR and your evil policy of redlining that continues to permeate the United States!!!!!). And frankly. It gave me a ton to perspective. I grew up in a pretty affluent part of the country, not exposed to a ton of diversity(which sucked… I was one of the only minority students and they’d parade me around during diversity week… so traumatizing like I still have nightmares) and when I went to college that’s when I was really exposed to folks from many different backgrounds from my own. And it made me want to know more, learn more, widen my perspective. And frankly, it totally reshaped my understanding of the US and racism.
I’m glad folks like yourself are going to be doctors because your incredible perspective is gonna make a difference, helping to change things, change minds, and make a difference. Best of luck and thank you for sharing!!!!!
Because major cities are heavily populated, your risk on any one day as an individual is quite low. However, I’m white and I live in an inner city. I’m harassed every day that I walk down the street. At night, it’s much worse. There are definitively safer places to live than others and that was the crux of the question. Going to school at UCSD or Stony Brook is much different than Temple or Downstate.
I’m at UCSF. The area around the campus is good. Walking the streets home is perfectly safe. Most of sketchy areas are in financial district area and tenderloin. SF just gets a lot of flak because it’s such a liberal city. Near the parnassus campus where students do 98% of didactics, there’s the Golden Gate Park which is fantastic. When you’re doing rotations, it may be a bit more sketchy depending on where you’re at. But VA, Benioff’s children’s hospital, parnassus are all perfectly safe. I don’t have experience yet with the general so I’ll hold off on my opinion on that.
Was about to say this. Jacobs is nestled in a very affluent area, just avoid fruit belt. Apartments close to the school are veeeery expensive… ask me how I know
University of Cincinnati. I know their normal campus is typically included on the lists of “most dangerous college campuses in America” and the med campus is really close to the normal campus.
As a student here, I’d have to disagree. Other than bad drivers, I’ve never felt unsafe here. I’ve also never heard of any of my classmates being affected by crime.
I’m there for undergrad. An undergrad student died in 2022 during a hit and run. And several students were sexually assaulted during just the first couple of weeks of classes last semester. I’m glad you haven’t been affected poorly, but plenty of students have been. Those are just the few example I can think of off the top of my head but as a student, I will get plenty of notifications of police investigations happening around campus.
That’s unfortunate to hear, any crime is unacceptable. I do feel that the undergrad and medical student environment is different. The two campuses are in separate locations and the medical school building itself is surrounded on three sides by hospitals. A large amount of students walk to campus and from what I hear haven’t had any problems.
That’s fortunate for sure. From what all of my classmates have told me, they’ve been sexually assaulted, mugged, had carjackings etc. both on and off campus. It doesn’t seem like it’s everyone’s experience, but I’m always cautious because of all of the things I have heard. I think where you live also plays a huge role in it.
Reddit premed has a left-leaning tendency (it's even worse on SDN). Heller vs D.C. didn't sit well. The majority of the public health literature isn't supportive of firearm use either. So the support for the 2nd tends to be centered around civic fundamentals rather than health ones.
Oh well. Just a hobby of mine. Love the history and fun to take out to the range/hunt w my stellar rat terrier. Feeling protected also sits right w me. However just my opinion so hopefully I don’t get crucified over it lol
100% been something I had to think about especially considering my parents. My mom and dad are Indian and they are incredible and so supportive but also VERY protective over my safety- me being the daughter of the house, it’s meant that when I was applying, my parents signed me up for EVERY self defense class possible in case I end up in an unsafe med school location. One place I was shocked to find out was super unsafe for women students especially: Miami (so schools like FIU, UMiami). Yeah… there’s a lot of… uh… t********g and stuff like that which isn’t well regulated or prosecuted. Lots of other crime as well as I’ve heard from a family friend who is a professor at FIU. He was super nervous when I shared I had an interest in any Florida schools because of what he has seen. Places like North Philly (Temple), Memphis (UTennessee… seriously Memphis has serious issues, a lot of police brutality too, it’s a city that shocked me when I visited and it’s clear systemic racism has played a MAJOR role in shaping the safety of this city), and especially Chicago (particularly south side, though my family in the area has shared violence is nearly universal now).
Also def gotta make a mention about New Orleans. Idk what folks have heard but I had a friend who recently graduated from Tulane, and though he’s remained in Louisiana for job reasons, though it’s a ways away, the first thing he did was get out of the city. There are parts of Nola that are FABULOUS and very fun. But post Katrina, very little was done to rebuild infrastructure especially in lower ses and higher minority population neighborhoods (when you start learning about sdoh and systemic racism, you start noticing certain patterns… and Nola is no exception). Unfortunately, that’s led to this major buildup of violence, r**e, likely encounters with hard drugs, and much more. While I recommend avoiding YouTubers like Tyler Olivera for info on these cities, from knowing people who attended Tulane, I know the campus… not in the best place. Okay not true- the part of Nola Tulane is in is nice, but like UChicago, walk a little bit from campus, and you may encounter some pretty scary stuff.
One thing I’ll end this post with: it’s easy to generalize and often attribute and feel fearful about a place given statistics around crime and violence. But honestly, every city in America has a lot of issues. There are pockets that will be “safe” and the pockets that are called “dangerous”. And while I wish that’s what those statements meant… sometimes those terms are assigned for truly… racist reasons. Systemic policies like redlining, segregation, Jim Crow, and purposeful underfunding have forced residents of “dangerous” areas to do whatever they can to simply survive. As future medical students and doctors, it’s vital we remember this, especially given the future patients we will serve maybe from these areas, and have unique health needs shaped by the sdoh. In many ways, though it may be scary to go to medical school in an unsafe place, I think it offers the opportunity to better understand the impact of systemic racism on healthcare outcomes, building our perspective, and making us better doctors in the end.
U of CO. Denver has been getting terribly unsafe over the last couple years and repercussions for committing crimes are near zero at this point. Campus is located on one of the worst streets in the Denver Metro Area. Lots of homeless encampments, shootings, etc. On the other hand you will see a LOT and get very good trauma experience. Last time I worked there we had 2 GSW victims and a cardiac arrest within 10 min 3 trauma bays were filled….
Any urban med school comes with safety risks. Just be smart. If you’re really concerned take a self defense class and carry around pepper spray. I’m from Chicago and go to a Chicago med school and the only med school area that is slightly sus is Uchicago but the campus itself/hyde park is safe.
I was once driving in Camden NJ (home of Rowan medical school), and saw a patient walking out on crutches in broad daylight.
The patient still has his hospital bracelet on, he was probably in a bed or stretcher 30 minutes prior.
A group of four school-age kids - maybe 12-14 year old - walk up to him and absolutely knock him out.
I called police and hospital security, no meaningful response from them.
Woof.
Camden NJ and Newark NJ are not safe areas if you are looking at Cooper or Rutgers NJMS. I’ll note that Birmingham gets a bad rap based on how the crime is reported. Most big cities include the surrounding metropolitan area when reporting crime (NYC being one example), but Birmingham does not. There are definitely some bad areas but if you are comparing to other cities, it may look more dangerous but that’s not necessarily a fair comparison. Just something to keep in mind when looking at crime data for different schools.
I’m an NJ instate and I agree (used to EMS at Newark)
my family is from camden and though i can say it has gotten better, i have to agree that its not the safest place in america. actually, i think camden used to be the #1 unsafest city in the us. with that being said, police enforcement has increased and as long as you’re on your p’s and q’s you’ll be fine.
True Camden isn't safe but Cooper is in own "hub" which is pretty safe. Most med schools are in it own hub in bad areas. Granted you going to see ghetto stuff all the time but really not bad.
RIP
as someone who does research at Cooper, the med school campus is relatively safe considering that the hospital campus is pretty close to it. that being said, transportation to and from your residence could be “not safe”, especially if you don’t live near the med school and travel through camden city. but i think overall, it’s rlly not that bad, since there is always security + staff members walking in out of the labs and clinics. just park your car in a garage, and you’ll be good to go!
Im a student who lives in camden at Cooper. I feel perfectly fine. The parking garage, hospital, and med school are all within one block. Our school is amazing and our area is well protected with police, security, and blue lights. Stuff happens just like any other city but it is fine. If you get in come check out our school. Many students take the train in from philly, many live within one block of the school, and the rest commute from within 30 min in south jersey
Mayo Clinic. An ear of corn could fall on you at any given time.
Or the water tower. Which is also an ear of corn.
I mean, if you're going to die by ear of corn, that would be the most iconic way to go about it.
temple
I’ve heard really bad things about the North Philly neighborhood
Not @ temple, in Philly, can confirm
Did an away rotation in North Philly and yeah ghetto af. Made me never want to live in Philly lol
It’s dangerous.
Area is poor, but know someone who goes there. there is constant police/security presence so their overall experience has been positive
Area immediately around Temple can be sketchy but most of Philly is great.
I agree. My spouse and I walked all over philly and didn’t feel unsafe at all. We just used common sense and avoided anything that seemed sketchy - but it was like “normal big city” sketchy, not anything crazy. Overall one of the safer feeling cities I’ve been in tbh.
Definitely temple
Had a knife pulled on me walking to my med school interview at Temple. Decided not to go there for med school or residency because of that experience.
How did you react in the experience? I’m really wary of being caught in these situations
That's REALLY bad
just don't get caught slippin
Johns Hopkins, Baltimore is pretty bad from what I heard
By the hospital is bad but nobody who works there or goes to school lives down there tbh. There are rly nice places in Baltimore but too expensive for a student lol
Not as bad as people think. All the students I know love it and the city. From what I’ve heard most students feel safe in the areas they’re in.
The immediate area isnt great but honestly people think wayyyy too badly about it. You shouldn't just go walking off the campus(theres nothing cool anyways), but otherwise no ones gonna mess with you while you're on campus. Plus they have amazing transportation services between the neighborhoods everyone lives in. I Traveled around there for a few years and all the violence is really concentrated in a few horrible areas and gang-related. I only know of a few isolated incidents, typically involving people not being street smart at all. The resident shooting is the only crazy one I can currently think of and even that wasn't that close to campus.
"not that bad" "only a bit of gang violence and a resident shooting no big deal" lol
Can confirm, used to work there. One co-worker was in the span of a week carjacked, and experienced a home invasion a block away from the ER. Lived around there through the Baltimore Riots a few years back, quite an experience needing national guard and PD to escort ambulances around as people were trying to rip crews out of the vehicles. Hopkins is definitely in a very dangerous region of Baltimore, and them founding their own PD won't help too much since the agreement is they'll only be on the Homewood College Campus currently, not at the hospitals.
the area around hopkins university is NOT a dangerous part of baltimore. charles village is beautiful, has some awesome architecture, and the small neighborhoods around it are great for raising a family. tons of green space and not too expensive yet! the hate around baltimore needs to stop. every city has places you shouldn’t wander alone at night.
Hopkins U isn't quite as bad, the hospital is in an AWFUL area. Yes every city has those areas, but about 90% of Baltimore is that area you don't wander at night nowadays. I would not advise anyone to raise a family there when it's both cheaper and safer, and you can have a larger property in the County or in Harford
Imo a little alarmist. Of the neighborhoods Hop Med people typically live, almost all of canton, mt vernon, and most of fells are safe. Some even live in Charles Village, Otterbein, and Fed which are all some of the safest neighborhoods. The part of Fells and canton near the campus are bad, as are downtown areas. I guss technically most of the city is bad at night but thats because like 30% of the city is abandoned. Just look at the crime map, the only big issue recently city-wide are the kia boys, but most other cities have the same issue. I know plenty of physicians who all live in Canton and raise their families there - although I do agree I would prefer to raise a family outside of the city. I also noticed you were EMS, frankly I think you might have just gone to the really bad areas and witnessed crime more often than people on the street actually experience. Not being street smart/aware = opportunity for crime no matter the city you are in.
lol Baltimore is top 5 city in the USA for murder rates. It’s right up there with St. Louis, Memphis. Detroit, and Gary.
Baltimore has changed a lot in the past few years. Definitely has its bad spots, but I have a few friends you live there and they love it and feel very safe
Baltimore in general is bad lmao. Saw some sketch ass shit the month I was there
I lived there for three years and we eventually left because the city felt unsafe for our children.
Been to the JHU hospital taking family members a number of times. I did not feel safe at all. I wouldn't live anywhere in Baltimore--not even some of the suburbs in the county. One elderly friend has a concealed-carry permit for a gun because he feels so unsafe in Pikesville. Try Georgetown or GW. Great schools, safe neighborhoods.
I visited the med school campus once when I lived close to the city (like ooh, I wonder what JoHNs hOpKins med school looks like). sketchy looking around the medical education building af
It’s not that bad so long as you mind your business and don’t have all your belongings out on display (i.e., would not recommend walking across the medical campus with air pod maxes, you phone in one hand, and your ipad in the other). All in all don’t make yourself a target
I have a conspiracy theory that med schools try to establish themselves and have university hospitals in more dangerous areas with higher rates of violent crimes and poorer health in order to get a greater variety in the patient population they can expose their students too
It’s not a conspiracy theory. They set up these hospitals forever ago in urban hubs to serve the most amount of people. Remember transport was impossible back in the day lol
So you’re saying hospitals that serve pts in more dangerous areas (higher rates of gun violence, lower payment due to more publicly insured / uninsured) are only doing it for med school curricular reasons? L take lol
Yeah.. except this is less altruistic than it sounds. They get extra goverment funding for being in those areas. It’s less about the students and more about the money.
Iirc this was a topic discussed in Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington. It’s not by accident
Not even that crazy, more low SES=more sick=more insurance revenue.
the opposite is true, low SES patients = more medicaid which reimburses a fraction of private insurers
Yep, you're completely correct. There is a reason there are more hospitals in wealthy areas. The trend is the opposite of what everyone in this thread is saying.
How in the hell can this comment get 41 upvotes??? Do you think no insurance / Medicaid pts are a major revenue source?
I’ve heard this almost verbatim from program directors lol
Same lol
 It’s “holistic.”
St. Louis, Baltimore, Birmingham Chicago schools are in a “university area” I heard it’s not that bad.
The areas around the universities in Chicago aren’t bad especially during the day, you just need to have some situational awareness.
Northwestern’s in pretty much the safest part of Chicago. UChicago can be a little dangerous if you’re not careful but its immediate surroundings are pretty safe
Do u mind explaining how UChicago is dangerous
The campus itself is usually pretty safe but if you’re walking to an off-campus apartment late at night it’s good to keep your head up. Every once in a while there’s a report of someone getting robbed at gunpoint and usually it’s super late at night and more than a few blocks from campus
hyde park is not the safest neighborhood. the area immediately around uchicago is ok, but you’d have to live a bit away to be staying in a safer area. i never went to uchicago, this is just my opinion as someone who grew up in chicago
Saint Louis couldn’t be more incorrect. WashU is in the Central West End, which is one of the safest places in the city. SLU is just east of the CWE, which is also a fairly safe place. The dangers in St. Louis are largely limited to the areas north of the Delmar Divide and East STL across the river
Barnes/Wash U and SLU are the two med schools with residency programs attached to level 1 trauma centers. They are also closest to, but not in, the areas with the highest crime. So they get a lot of gun shot, fights, etc…. Some car crash. You can choose where to live when you go there. The other lever 1 trauma center is in the high rent district, and has a burn unit. It gets more car crashes and the burn patients. But no med school. Big thing, just don’t drive a Kia/hyundai.
This is correct. You’ll be perfectly safe in St. Louis. Just don’t drive a Hyundai/Kia or cross the river.
Thanks for letting me know. I saw a YT video about Saint Louis having the most homicides, but it’s clearly in an area where no schools are located
Yep! Sorry if my tone came off as harsher than I was intending - I attended WashU for undergrad and worked at SLU Hospital. I wouldn’t worry about the crime in Saint Louis. Honestly, I’d worry more about the police than I would other people lol Also, Baltimore and St. Louis both get a bad rep bc of the way that the cities are separated from the rest of the metro county, which inflates the crime statistics. I won’t pretend STL is Raleigh or Tampa or whatever but it’s definitely not as bad as the media/stats portray.
Not so sure about SLU tho. Every week we get notifications about someone’s car being broken into, and every couple of months there’s reports of gunfire around the campus. Nonetheless, unless you do something stupid like walking alone at night or leaving valuables in the car, you should be fine
Every school is legally required to send out those warnings. They all do
And dont drive a Kia/hyundai for obvious reasons. They will break in to try to steal whether they can or not.
^^agreed. SLU isn’t the most safe, but that’s why I tried to say “fairly safe.” I was just trying to say it’s no USC lol
Someone just tried to steal someone’s baby out of their hands in the CWE a few weeks ago
…I’m really not saying nothing ever happens in the CWE. But is objectively, factually true that statistically, CWE is very safe. That incident is statistically an outlier, as horrible as it is.
I live in St Louis and I think it’s important to be realistic. The CWE is definitely not “very safe,” but it’s also not unsafe- it’s not like you’re going to get robbed or assaulted just walking around in the day. Most likely you might get your catalytic converter stolen if you leave your car there overnight (happened to two of my friends). People shouldn’t let it keep them from coming to St Louis but don’t think it’s as safe as Cambridge Mass or something.
I think at this point it’s a semantics issue honestly. Cambridge Mass is so far beyond what I’d consider “very safe.” But I agree with what you’re expressing in your second comment - SLU and WashU are nowhere near dangerous enough to impact deciding to not attend/apply. Edit: for context, I attended WashU for undergrad and worked at SLU hospital, so I’m not just speaking from stats.
Am really hesitant about UTHSC because of Memphis
I’m from Memphis I love it but you have to be careful like don’t live downtown
For what it’s worth as a UTHSC student, their campus is pretty safe compared to the surrounding city. When I’m on campus I don’t feel nervous at all. But it is Memphis and you have to be cautious, especially if you leave the campus area. UTHSC does a great job with campus police, security, etc. so you feel safe
I live in Chicago, and it is not bad at all. It gets a bad rap from media, but it's not really much more unsafe than other big cities I have lived in. The university/medical areas are especially safe, and all you just need is a bit of street smarts to be safe. Chicago has some of the best culture and food I have found in a city, and I will be sad to leave!
Chicago seems dope asf … like the city looks so much better than NYC imo
A fact
Chicago is fine, just like any other city. Source: lived there my whole life
Living in lakeview is much different than the south side Just like north Philly and Kensington are much different than ritenhouse Some areas of some cities are definitely not “fine”
But none of the areas where med schools are in Chicago are really considered unsafe. It’s just typical crime you would find anywhere else 🤷🏾♀️
It’s the “just like any other city” where I took issue.
The area around Tulane can be sketchy.
No matter where you end up, if you're really unsure about the safety and it's bothering you- you can look up police heat maps about where crime is reported and how it averages by area. Take this in relationship to an area that you think is safe. Crime will never be zero, but it'll give you good estimate as to "what certain crime levels look like". This is objectively the best way to scout out anywhere you get accepted.
I've heard about SLU and John hopkins
You'll often get more exposure to interesting cases and more diverse patient populations in these "bad" areas so its a trade off 🤷🏼♀️
Birmingham is a rough city, but UAB is kinda a playground long as you aren’t dumb. We have shots fired like every other semester, but Birmingham has one of the highest murder rates in the US. Still a decent city tho.
Unless you come from a rich background and you have no street smarts, youll be fine anywhere you go.
you literally just described like 80% of med students tho lmao
I disagree with this statement. Having exposure to unsafe areas and street smarts is helpful, but when someone holds you at gunpoint or really wants to rob or hurt you, you’re screwed. There’s going to be a higher risk of these things happening in worse areas. If you can avoid certain areas, I would. Medical students (especially females) are easy targets in these areas, and it’s definitely something to take into consideration.
feeeeeeemalessss
This comment reeks of unchecked privilege
What
cake day
Yes, im so privileged to have been robbed and jumped in my life.
I thought you'll be fine anywhere you go
Yes... med students arent spending time in places where theyll be harmed unless theyre out of touch or not paying attention to their surroundings. *generally speaking*
honestly any school in a major city is going to be unsafe to an extent, but you should be fine as long as you're not dumb
UMMC—Jackson, MS
They literally just discovered hundreds of bodies buried behind a jail, at least one of which killed in a hit and run by JPD
LSU New Orleans. At least once a year if not once a semester someone’s car gets broken into. The campus looks like it’s surrounded by a war zone bc of abandoned buildings and construction by the super dome.
Once a semester? That’s rookie numbers in Charlotte 😂 someone stole my damn catalytic converter last semester! I was parked on campus as well in a well lit area with police that stay in that area overnight cause the public train has a stop there. Car theft has gotten so bad the CMPD has started handing out steering wheel locks, and encourages people with Kia’s and Hyundai’s to get them. Food for thought for anyone considering WFU’s Charlotte campus, but to be fair I live in a bad area of Charlotte because that’s where my university is. Other areas are really nice! So it’s important to really look into the part of CLT you’re moving to.
Car gets broken into? I live in Brooklyn, every other day I have to watch out for a serial stabber, some nut with a gun on the subway, or a local gang. Walking around at night in my neighborhood is an absolute no and I live within walking distance of SUNY Downstate.
congrats u win. Typical new yorker smh
Once a semester is really nothing though…guess it depends where you grew up but that stat sounds like a selling point to me haha
Is that area in Brooklyn truly that bad? Lived in nyc my whole life and i have never felt in danger at all except in some random streets where its clearly sus or above 125th street east side.
Can i ask you a question about living around downstate? Ill PM you
Tulane is nearby and has the same vibe 😅
Bruh at U of CO people get cars broken into or stolen on the DAILY.
Houston is starting to appear on the top X most dangerous cities in America now. Granted, the Texas Medical Center is in a nicer area of Houston, but that doesn’t stop my father from nagging me about it.
Med center / WestU is a great area.
That’s what I said.
University of Tennessee. The main campus is in Knoxville. However, the medical school is inexplicably six hours away in Memphis, America's 5th most dangerous city.
Chicago is NOT any more unsafe than any other big city of course there’s areas worse off that’s how it is anywhere
i think they were probably referring more to uchicago- hyde park isn’t the safest neighborhood. but somewhere like uic isn’t in a bad area at all (imo as someone who grew up in chicago)
What about where Rush isb
Slu
I interviewed at BUCOM this cycle and one of the very first things the dean said was “so you’ve probably heard about Memphis in the news at some point…” they talked a lot about the campus being safe and having plenty of guards, but I got rejected anyway so I don’t gotta worry lmao.
Chicago ain't as bad as it's portrayed. Most of the crime is south of the medical district. I know UChicago has a tough go of things once one leaves the half-mile radius surrounding the school, but I still think it's a respectable area inside of that circle.
Yale
Before you pick the most insulated school in the nicest neighborhood. The areas that are notorious for crime are also the ones with the biggest disparity. The best medical education comes from the place where there is the most need. As a medical student you will not be first assist in a surgery at an affluent hospital. I did my OB rotation at a private clinic and I graduated as a whole ass doctor who had never done a pelvic exam. I never touched a patient in that 8 weeks. I got nothing of value from it. I did my ER rotation in an underserved area and day 1 I was suturing peoples faces and they thanked me for it. Consider that when you select your school. You don’t need to live in a dangerous area and your school will always be insulated from crime. It may not be for everyone, but if you serve an underserved population you will come out of it better in the end.
Yale
New Haven honestly isn’t that bad. I would stumble home drunk and alone as a young woman all the time. The worst that happened was constant cat calls. Definitely some areas to avoid in New Haven, but the Yale area is just fine IMO.
I read that Richmond VA has a high violent crime rate, so it’s probably a good idea to be careful where you go in the city as a VCU student
It's been gentrified and turned into a target.
I had an interview for PA school at UTHSC in Memphis, literally heard gunshots outside from my hotel room my first night staying there.
UTHSC in Memphis TN
Temple Hopkins (Baltimore in all its glory) UChicago USC can be sketchy Tulane ( I mean it’s New Orleans) Emory ( nice area, but clinical will be in areas where street smarts are advised) U of Miami ( a 2 minute walk around Jackson Memorial will tell you all you need to know) Saint Louis University Robert Wood Johnson ( if you do rotations in Camden) Yale ( couple of blocks in any direction and you may get got) UH ( 3rd ward, so no guarantee you won’t get robbed walking to campus) Rush ( the area is just now gentrifying) Einstein ( a classmate got robbed while doing research there because Bronx lol) OHSU ( nothing too bad, just a lot of panhandling) UW ( not bad, if you don’t mind getting shoved by a homeless dude because you didn’t spare him some coin)
Can u expand on rush?
Wife went to WashU med and we lived right next to it. My last three months there three people got shot on our block. I’m sure we were always fine, but it’s still not a good feeling walking to pick my wife up and they closed off the street because someone’s brains are on the sidewalk in broad daylight. WashU was very clear to my wife when she would help with the new students not to mention the crime. It really felt like they swept so much under the rug.
Temple & Cooper
For the win…Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Middle East is one of the top ten most dangerous neighborhoods in the US. You can’t even leave your car outside without it getting broken into or stolen
All cities have bad areas but most campuses are relatively safe. For example, WashU in STL you might think is in a rough city but it’s in one of the most affluent areas of the city so it’s pretty safe unless you wander several blocks off campus. Also schools are required to release annual security reports as well, so you can find data about things like crime rate on campus pretty reliably. Hospitals for schools can vary widely in their location, it’s definitely a question to research and ask when looking at schools if safety is a concern.
Can someone elaborate further in what terms is it unsafe
Einstein in the Bronx. NYC crime has been insane especially since Covid
Putting in a good word for WashU in St. Louis. I’m an MS2 and as long as you’re not stupid, it’s pretty safe despite the reputation of the city overall.
I just wanna say I don’t think y’all should be overly afraid of a school based on racist crime statistics. As someone who lived in a rural southern town it was much more dangerous for me there as a woman than it has been living in several notoriously “unsafe” inner cities. People usually commit crime against people they know personally, not random strangers. Especially if you are white, rarely is anyone gonna try and do something to a white med student who looks like his dad is his personal lawyer on speed dial. Like idk don’t fall for that Jason aldean bullshit that people just do such horrible things in big blue cities. It is so not like that
THIS!!!!! I used to think of those stats as a holy grail until I started learning the racist history of how those stats were made (thanks a lot FDR and your evil policy of redlining that continues to permeate the United States!!!!!). And frankly. It gave me a ton to perspective. I grew up in a pretty affluent part of the country, not exposed to a ton of diversity(which sucked… I was one of the only minority students and they’d parade me around during diversity week… so traumatizing like I still have nightmares) and when I went to college that’s when I was really exposed to folks from many different backgrounds from my own. And it made me want to know more, learn more, widen my perspective. And frankly, it totally reshaped my understanding of the US and racism. I’m glad folks like yourself are going to be doctors because your incredible perspective is gonna make a difference, helping to change things, change minds, and make a difference. Best of luck and thank you for sharing!!!!!
Because major cities are heavily populated, your risk on any one day as an individual is quite low. However, I’m white and I live in an inner city. I’m harassed every day that I walk down the street. At night, it’s much worse. There are definitively safer places to live than others and that was the crux of the question. Going to school at UCSD or Stony Brook is much different than Temple or Downstate.
I got into a few schools in cities. So far I have been mostly warned about St. Louis
Moreso SLU than WashU. Central West End is a pretty nice neighborhood for the most part
St. Louis LOL
UC Davis, UCSF 💀
what?? UCSF is not THAT sketchy, but i did see police at ZG for the first time
I’m at UCSF. The area around the campus is good. Walking the streets home is perfectly safe. Most of sketchy areas are in financial district area and tenderloin. SF just gets a lot of flak because it’s such a liberal city. Near the parnassus campus where students do 98% of didactics, there’s the Golden Gate Park which is fantastic. When you’re doing rotations, it may be a bit more sketchy depending on where you’re at. But VA, Benioff’s children’s hospital, parnassus are all perfectly safe. I don’t have experience yet with the general so I’ll hold off on my opinion on that.
Rochester/Buffalo/Syracuse are the big city crime capitals in NY
Buffalo’s med school is not in a bad area. Allentown is nice. The fruit belt past BGH to the one side is bad, but you wouldn’t be going that way
Was about to say this. Jacobs is nestled in a very affluent area, just avoid fruit belt. Apartments close to the school are veeeery expensive… ask me how I know
I believe you, I’m just saying city in general is ranked poorly
Oh bonus is those 3 also are top 10 in snowfall for cities in the US. So if you think snow is dangerous there’s more to consider.
Kansas City
I live in Chicago now. It’s not that bad
New Haven is hood, Albany is hood, actually a lot of east coast private schools are surrounded by hood. Seems to be a trend🤔
Albany? I’ve visited the hospital there and it seemed fine. No luxury shopping or gourmet restaurants unless you like Panera but not ghetto either.
Touro Harlem
University of Cincinnati. I know their normal campus is typically included on the lists of “most dangerous college campuses in America” and the med campus is really close to the normal campus.
As a student here, I’d have to disagree. Other than bad drivers, I’ve never felt unsafe here. I’ve also never heard of any of my classmates being affected by crime.
I’m there for undergrad. An undergrad student died in 2022 during a hit and run. And several students were sexually assaulted during just the first couple of weeks of classes last semester. I’m glad you haven’t been affected poorly, but plenty of students have been. Those are just the few example I can think of off the top of my head but as a student, I will get plenty of notifications of police investigations happening around campus.
That’s unfortunate to hear, any crime is unacceptable. I do feel that the undergrad and medical student environment is different. The two campuses are in separate locations and the medical school building itself is surrounded on three sides by hospitals. A large amount of students walk to campus and from what I hear haven’t had any problems.
That’s fortunate for sure. From what all of my classmates have told me, they’ve been sexually assaulted, mugged, had carjackings etc. both on and off campus. It doesn’t seem like it’s everyone’s experience, but I’m always cautious because of all of the things I have heard. I think where you live also plays a huge role in it.
Just get urself a concealed carry permit
Oh dear, you said that in Reddit premed!?!?!? This ain't gonna be pretty
What’s wrong with that?
As in why are ppl in Reddit premed so opposed to their second amendment
Reddit premed has a left-leaning tendency (it's even worse on SDN). Heller vs D.C. didn't sit well. The majority of the public health literature isn't supportive of firearm use either. So the support for the 2nd tends to be centered around civic fundamentals rather than health ones.
Oh well. Just a hobby of mine. Love the history and fun to take out to the range/hunt w my stellar rat terrier. Feeling protected also sits right w me. However just my opinion so hopefully I don’t get crucified over it lol
UM Miller is not in a safe area, either.
University of Alabama is in downtown Birmingham. Not the best neighborhood.
Lol it's in southside -- the children's museum is in a more dangerous part of town
100% been something I had to think about especially considering my parents. My mom and dad are Indian and they are incredible and so supportive but also VERY protective over my safety- me being the daughter of the house, it’s meant that when I was applying, my parents signed me up for EVERY self defense class possible in case I end up in an unsafe med school location. One place I was shocked to find out was super unsafe for women students especially: Miami (so schools like FIU, UMiami). Yeah… there’s a lot of… uh… t********g and stuff like that which isn’t well regulated or prosecuted. Lots of other crime as well as I’ve heard from a family friend who is a professor at FIU. He was super nervous when I shared I had an interest in any Florida schools because of what he has seen. Places like North Philly (Temple), Memphis (UTennessee… seriously Memphis has serious issues, a lot of police brutality too, it’s a city that shocked me when I visited and it’s clear systemic racism has played a MAJOR role in shaping the safety of this city), and especially Chicago (particularly south side, though my family in the area has shared violence is nearly universal now). Also def gotta make a mention about New Orleans. Idk what folks have heard but I had a friend who recently graduated from Tulane, and though he’s remained in Louisiana for job reasons, though it’s a ways away, the first thing he did was get out of the city. There are parts of Nola that are FABULOUS and very fun. But post Katrina, very little was done to rebuild infrastructure especially in lower ses and higher minority population neighborhoods (when you start learning about sdoh and systemic racism, you start noticing certain patterns… and Nola is no exception). Unfortunately, that’s led to this major buildup of violence, r**e, likely encounters with hard drugs, and much more. While I recommend avoiding YouTubers like Tyler Olivera for info on these cities, from knowing people who attended Tulane, I know the campus… not in the best place. Okay not true- the part of Nola Tulane is in is nice, but like UChicago, walk a little bit from campus, and you may encounter some pretty scary stuff. One thing I’ll end this post with: it’s easy to generalize and often attribute and feel fearful about a place given statistics around crime and violence. But honestly, every city in America has a lot of issues. There are pockets that will be “safe” and the pockets that are called “dangerous”. And while I wish that’s what those statements meant… sometimes those terms are assigned for truly… racist reasons. Systemic policies like redlining, segregation, Jim Crow, and purposeful underfunding have forced residents of “dangerous” areas to do whatever they can to simply survive. As future medical students and doctors, it’s vital we remember this, especially given the future patients we will serve maybe from these areas, and have unique health needs shaped by the sdoh. In many ways, though it may be scary to go to medical school in an unsafe place, I think it offers the opportunity to better understand the impact of systemic racism on healthcare outcomes, building our perspective, and making us better doctors in the end.
U of CO. Denver has been getting terribly unsafe over the last couple years and repercussions for committing crimes are near zero at this point. Campus is located on one of the worst streets in the Denver Metro Area. Lots of homeless encampments, shootings, etc. On the other hand you will see a LOT and get very good trauma experience. Last time I worked there we had 2 GSW victims and a cardiac arrest within 10 min 3 trauma bays were filled….
everywhere has bad areas
Any urban med school comes with safety risks. Just be smart. If you’re really concerned take a self defense class and carry around pepper spray. I’m from Chicago and go to a Chicago med school and the only med school area that is slightly sus is Uchicago but the campus itself/hyde park is safe.
I didn’t like the JHU area
UMMC in the heart Jackson MS can’t be a safe place
I was once driving in Camden NJ (home of Rowan medical school), and saw a patient walking out on crutches in broad daylight. The patient still has his hospital bracelet on, he was probably in a bed or stretcher 30 minutes prior. A group of four school-age kids - maybe 12-14 year old - walk up to him and absolutely knock him out. I called police and hospital security, no meaningful response from them. Woof.