[lawmom]

My daughter is choosing between Trinity and Conn College, but Trinity is the one where she felt "this is the place I want to go."

The stats I've seen are that Trinity has the highest crime rate of the CT colleges/universities. The campus was lovely though. The tour guide informed us she never felt unsafe, and there is security on campus, like most schools.

I imagine that, like anywhere, the students should always be aware of their surroundings and walk with others at night.

Any input on whether she should reconsider her top choice? She'd be coming from a small suburb of Portland, ME, so Hartford would be a bit different. Thanks!

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by lawmom

My daughter is choosing between Trinity and Conn College, but Trinity is the one where she felt "this is the place I want to go."

The stats I've seen are that Trinity has the highest crime rate of the CT colleges/universities. The campus was lovely though. The tour guide informed us she never felt unsafe, and there is security on campus, like most schools.

I imagine that, like anywhere, the students should always be aware of their surroundings and walk with others at night.

Any input on whether she should reconsider her top choice? She'd be coming from a small suburb of Portland, ME, so Hartford would be a bit different. Thanks!

^This.

The campus itself is safe. The issue would be--you don't want to go wandering off campus, especially after dark. The neighborhood just west of there has had a high crime rate including several homicides over the past few years. Getting to/from campus--you need to pretty much know where you're going, and not get lost.

If safety is your primary concern, you would have more peace of mind with Connecticut College for sure. I don't know that reputationally they're that different...both in the NESCAC conference.

[JayCT]

Hartford is a large city and like any big city, it has its good and bad areas. The area around Trinity has some issues but it is not really bad. As long as she is careful she should be fine. Jay

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Hartford is a large city and like any big city, it has its good and bad areas. The area around Trinity has some issues but it is not really bad. As long as she is careful she should be fine. Jay

Maybe compared to the North End, and Albany corridor. By no means is the Trinity neighborhood considered a "safe" area within Hartford (I would only say that for the West End, Downtown, and the area near Goodwin Park). Obviously there are hundreds of students who attend Trinity with no incident but let's paint a realistic picture with an out-of-state parent who is concerned for safety, and is comparing it vs. their hometown in Maine.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Hartford is a large city and like any big city, it has its good and bad areas. The area around Trinity has some issues but it is not really bad. As long as she is careful she should be fine. Jay

17.95 square miles isn't a "large city". Just Manhattan is 22.82 square miles. It's also small by population at 123,000 and population density. 1/4 of the city is rated "food desert".

[BPt111]

Not the worst area in Hartford but it can be little sketchy sometimes compare to area north of interstate I-84 know as North End which is worst. The campus is safe itself but any large city you need street smarts.

[basehead617]

Definitely a sketchy area. I’d stay on campus, and I don’t know of any on-campus incidents..

Honestly I doubt you’d want to go off campus in that area even if it was safe.

[lawmom]

Thanks for the replies. It is our understanding that kids don't go off campus that much anyway, or at least that's her plan.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

17.95 square miles isn't a "large city". Just Manhattan is 22.82 square miles. It's also small by population at 123,000 and population density. 1/4 of the city is rated "food desert".

Metropolitan Hartford has a population of over 1.2 million and is the 37th largest in the country, so yes it is a large city. I am not sure what a part of the city being a food desert has to do with this. Again that is likely true of any city. Jay

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

17.95 square miles isn't a "large city". Just Manhattan is 22.82 square miles. It's also small by population at 123,000 and population density. 1/4 of the city is rated "food desert".

While it does not have the population density of Manhattan or even the full 5 boros of NYC, it's population density of around 7000 people per square mile is similar to many cities big enough to have major league sports teams and only a few very large cities like Chicago, Philly or San Francisco really have population densities over 10000/sq mile anyway. It definitely would be on border of being the larger end of a "mid-size city" or the smaller end of a "large city".

It's metro area population as later quoted by Jay compares with places like Buffalo, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and New Orleans to give a comparison.