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My D and her friend are looking at colleges in the NYC area and Hofstra is on both their lists. We are planning to come up soon to visit the school. We live several states away, so we can't just drop in or ride through the neighborhood to check it out ourselves.
Imagine my horror/shock when I came on this site tonight and started reading all the bad stuff about Hempstead. I honestly had NO IDEA it was such a bad area. I guess I always envisioned LI being a nice, family friendly area to live in with an easy train commute to Manhattan.
Can someone enlighten me? It is hard for me to believe that a campus as beautiful as this and with so many young people around, could be located in a gang infested slum area. Where are the police-local, state and federal level? How do the Hofstra campus police deal with these issues?
I seriously feel sick now, as Hofstra looks like such a great school, and as a side note, it's not cheap either. Now I am feeling a little uneasy about coming for a visit, much less sending my child there.
Hofstra is a great University and you should have no fears about the area. It's really on the outskirts of Hemp./Uniondale/Garden City. There's a guy on this board Walter G. that can really break down the exact location for you. But that's besides the point. You're not going there to "buy a home or send your kids to Hempstead high"... Hofstra's really in its own little gated bubble community.
The furthest students will trek is to the bars across the street. TBH, the biggest fear you should have with Hofstra is the STD situation. \
You really shouldn't have much to worry about. Hempstead certainly has issues and can be quite sketchy in parts, but the area around Hofstra is safe. Also even in the rougher areas of Hempstead the victims are typically those associated with gang activity, so even if someone is in that area unless they are involved with something they shouldn't be, the chances of something happening are quite slim.
Also, Hempstead's crime rate, etc really isn't that much different from the national average. It just tends to stick out like a sore thumb on Long Island because the crime rate is high compared to the rest of Long Island, which has among the lowest crime rates in the entire country.
I wouldn't worry much about the crime. Yes, Hempstead isn't the best area on Long Island, but the college is great, and the area where Hofstra is really isn't bad. I know many people who have gone there and I never heard of any problems like that.
And I agree with Peuqaman. Worry more about the STD's.. and getting the date rape drug. Not to worry you more than you already probably are being a parent sending your daughter away to school, but that's a concern with any college she'd go to.
As others are saying, in essence, it's as safe as any other school.
As far as it being a great school, that I'm not so sure about. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad school just not "great" IMO.
Depending on what your D is looking to study, don't forget to take a look at Stony Brook. IMO it's a much better value, and maybe even a better education, than Hofstra.
Depending on what your D is looking to study, don't forget to take a look at Stony Brook. IMO it's a much better value, and maybe even a better education, than Hofstra.
Excellent point. Hofstra is expensive for what is essentially a 3rd tier school. However, they are opening/have opening a medical school from what I read, so that may increase Hofstra's standing.
While Hofstra is like many colleges/universities in that it has a campus that is mostly its own bubble, I can guarantee you won't be impressed with the area - even just "driving through". If I had visited a college in an area like that my parents would have crossed it right off the list, no questions asked.
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