cal state of los angeles (Long Beach, Fullerton: home, neighborhood, school)

[dmharris]

My 18 year old daughter was accepted to cal state at los angeles. We live in Pennsylvania and do not want her to go. I am worried about safety? The college web site has several alarming incidents and I want to know about the saftey in this area.

[buckeyenative01]

Its not located in the greatest of areas (Boyle Heights), but neither is USC and they seem to do okay.

[JTGJR]

My daughter was accepted there as well- we live in LA. Of the 7 acceptances she's received thus far, CSULA would rank at the bottom.

[LASam]

From what I understand... it's more of a commuter school and is in a fairly rough area. Now if she got accepted to UCLA or Cal State Northridge/Fullerton.... that may be a different story.

[buckeyenative01]

If you're worried about safety, I'd say to go USC. It straddles the border between Downtown and South Central, but is fairly self-contained/unaffected by whatever gang activity that takes place in the community.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

If you're worried about safety, I'd say to go USC. It straddles the border between Downtown and South Central, but is fairly self-contained/unaffected by whatever gang activity that takes place in the community.

while usc is a well protected campus, once you venture off the actual campus you are in the 'hood. while i've met many people who went to school there who had no issues, i've also met people who have been mugged, had their stuff stolen, and had guns pointed at them. while these things can happen anywhere, it is much more likely to happen at usc.

at CSULA your daughter probably wouldn't want to live near campus, unless you're latino of course. i can see non-latino locals living there because of the cheaper rent, but for an outsider, it wouldn't be a wise decision. there are areas not too far away that would be okay (pasadena comes to mind, maybe even silver lake or los feliz). IMHO, i would look elsewhere, especially if your daughter is looking for the "college experience".

[vegaspilgrim]

This sounds like a dumb idea indeed, dmharris. I'd put the foot down if I were you. If it was Cal State Long Beach, different story.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

If you're worried about safety, I'd say to go USC. It straddles the border between Downtown and South Central, but is fairly self-contained/unaffected by whatever gang activity that takes place in the community.

Sorry, but that is not true. I go to USC. There have been dozens, I repeat dozens, of USC students who have been mugged at gunpoint or knifepoint this year while coming home from campus at night-- and some of these incidents were during the day light. Many of these were literally right across the street or one block away from campus. I can start posting the police beat emails I get if you want... but I think you get the point. The gang activity definitely spills over.

[the one]

what are you guys talking about?!?!?!

if you want a safer neighborhood, choose CSULA over USC.

the university hills, hillside village, el sereno, alhambra area is a lot safer than the area by USC.

cal state LA is not in a bad neighborhood. it is not in boyle heights. it is perfectly fine.
do things happen on campus? or in the surrounding neighborhood? yes, but thats almost typical now. not acceptable, but still typical.

the area surrounding Cal state LA is pretty safe. safer than most other areas further out from campus. your daughter will be fine.

of course its not the most prestigious school, and it seems people go there due to convenience, but the school is still a CA university, and CA universities are some of the best, even the not so good ones.

[JTGJR]

I'm not sure why the whole USC thing raised it's head. The OP was asking, specifically, about Cal State LA.