What's the area around ASU Tempe like? (Phoenix, Mesa: sublet, credit)

[parentologist]

Considering sending a naive 19 year old there for an 8 week course starting in mid May. Just trying to get an idea what the area around there is like, in terms of safety. Kid is not street smart. I need this info to help me in making a decision about housing - whether to use dorms, or summer sublet nearby.

[BIG CATS]

Safety is pretty good. Lots of partiers and homeless, though, if that bothers you. Dorms are most likely going to be very noisy, as ASU has a bad reputation for being a party campus.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Safety is pretty good. Lots of partiers and homeless, though, if that bothers you. Dorms are most likely going to be very noisy, as ASU has a bad reputation for being a party campus.

Oh, this is such old news. ASU has been fallng down the "party school" rankings for years now. For eight weeks, the dorm is a much better choice. Since it's not during the regular school year, will be much more peaceful, too.

Originally Posted by parentologist

Considering sending a naive 19 year old there for an 8 week course starting in mid May. Just trying to get an idea what the area around there is like, in terms of safety. Kid is not street smart. I need this info to help me in making a decision about housing - whether to use dorms, or summer sublet nearby.

For eight weeks, use a dorm. Much less hassle, safe, more support. Some of the areas off the campus but close to the university may not be the best for a non-street smart naïve 19 year old. Best to avoid having to sort that out.

[parentologist]

Thanks, we'll plan on the dorms.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by observer53

Oh, this is such old news. ASU has been fallng down the "party school" rankings for years now.

I didn't say it was the "top party school in the nation", did I? I know it held that title long ago, but there is still plenty of mass partying going on over there.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

I didn't say it was the "top party school in the nation", did I? I know it held that title long ago, but there is still plenty of mass partying going on over there.

As there is at every large university. ASU is hardly unique in that regard, to the point that it's not even worth pointing out.

[infocyde]

++ on the Dorm recommendation. It will also put your daughter in contact with more people her age, where subletting might isolate her more. Dorm area is safe, though has others have pointed out there are sketchters coming and going but they generally know better than messing with students. Plus there fast food places around and it is close to campus.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by observer53

Oh, this is such old news. ASU has been fallng down the "party school" rankings for years now. For eight weeks, the dorm is a much better choice. Since it's not during the regular school year, will be much more peaceful, too.





For eight weeks, use a dorm. Much less hassle, safe, more support. Some of the areas off the campus but close to the university may not be the best for a non-street smart naïve 19 year old. Best to avoid having to sort that out.

I agree about using the dorm. ASU has changed in recent years. The level of academic rigor has gone up and new students should stay near campus to utilize advising, tutors, the library, etc.

Back in the 80s ASU was often the "backup" choice for many of the stronger HS teens applying to college. The preference for the elite HS seniors (e.g. Boys/Girls State) was to go out-of-state like the Ivy League, Stanford, etc. So, ASU was considered an "easy" in-state school for 2nd tier applicants from HS. ASU was the "backup" choice in case the Ivy League Type did not admit or there wasn't enough financial aid.

It's not like that anymore. ASU is very hard and a Public Ivy at this point. Expect a lot of work in a short 8 weeks, Since the 80s, the school's departments, stature, and influx of quality applicants have really grown high. A summer in organic chemistry or upper division calculus will be very rigorous. There is also a new pattern of elite in-state students who simply want to go to a public university to save money at the undergraduate level.

Since the 80s, the Ivy League Types have gotten ridiculously expensive. Is it really worth it to shell out an extra 25 to 40 grand per year just for the Ivy League as an undergraduate? For example, many of the elite students who could easily go to an Ivy League instead go to ASU as undergraduates and finish early with community college credits earned in HS. A lot of them enter as sophomores. Then some of them wait until graduate school to go out-of-state, which is better actually than the "80s" mindset of an Ivy League focus at age 17.

As for housing, there are many options along University Ave on the east side, across the lake on Scottsdale/Rural Road by Papago Park, and the Metro Rail goes from Central Phoenix to Mesa which gives more options. A lot of students live along that Metro Rail because it has several stops on or near campus.

But given the rigor of a summer course I would recommend living on campus. It's not an "easy party school" which is often the perception. There is a lot of partying on Mill Ave. But those students who do that excessively usually wind up on academic probation or on the police report.

[Ponderosa]

There is very little for 19 year olds on Mill Avenue (the college town street) as drinking age restrictions are enforced and outside of that, Mill is little but a couple restaurants and tee shirt shops. She will find more to do, make more friends, and enjoy her stay more in a dorm. ASU has some fancy dorms too, depending on where they are. It's not like back in the day.

Either way, the area is safe and you don't need "street smarts" but just common sense to avoid trouble.