University of Tampa (Laurel, Madison: best neighborhood, real estate, rentals)

[mjtalj]

My daughter wants to attend the University of Tampa. We are from NJ and I have concerns sending her so far away. If anyone knows about the safeness of the campus (what you can't get from school website), the area around the campus, and anything else you think might be good to know.
Also with the housing market so low I was also thinking that it might be better to purchase a condo or townhouse in the area instead of paying for campus living. This is also a concern of mine not knowing what neighborhood would be close and safe.
Thanks

[craigm1841]

UT is in the best neighborhood in tampa. It is located between hyde park and downtown. It is a somewhat urban/somewhat 'charming' setting, but in an area primarily overrun with young professionals. and young families. Most UT kids hang out in Hyde Park/SoHo. You can always tell who the UT kids are because they have NY and NJ Plates (Im a NYer myself) and are usually driving German cars.

UT is a place I would send my kids one day, if I had any. I am only 28. There are a lot of condos in the area, but they are relatively expensive as Hyde Park is the hot spot in Tampa. Check out condos and rentals at places like the Madison @ SoHo which has a lot of UT kids and professionals. Also check craigslist for rentals or condos in "Hyde Park".

On the plus side, if she is down here, you have more of a reason to visit Florida.

[forrestgump]

mjtalj, University of Tampa is in a very nice and safe part of town. The campus itself is also very beautiful.

However, University of South Florida (which is also in Tampa) is a much better ranked and more reputed university. It's true that the area around USF is lousy, but on-campus housing at USF is very nice and safe (based on what I heard from a colleague who went there).

USF, being a state university, will also be way less expensive than UT. However, if your daughter is interested in a private school for any reason, then UT is a very nice campus in a very nice and safe area.

[ferret111]

UT is pretty safe, but its northern and western sides border some sketchy neighborhoods.

[Obamanation]

Yup it's all been said here already. UT is in the middle of Tampa's core and a lot of great neighborhoods. UT itself is historic and very attractive.

The one flaw is she is never to walk due north of campus. That abuts a bad (but improving) neighborhood called Old West Tampa.

[Kevin from Tampa]

Originally Posted by ferret111

UT is pretty safe, but its northern and western sides border some sketchy neighborhoods.

Add in everything else that people have said to this ^^^^ statement, and you have the real deal.

UT is bordered by....

1-The Hillsborough River (on the east)
2-Hyde Park (on the south), a very nice area
3-Some non-descript areas on the north and west. These are not horrible areas, but I wouldn't live in them either. Not unsafe, just a little sketchy.

As a whole, it's a safe location for an urban setting.

As for purchasing a condo, there are some deals to be had downtown that are within biking and maybe even walking distance to the UT campus. I'd probably just rent, but if you have the scratch to sent someone to UT, you probably don't mind buying a condo.

[MortonR]

As an out of state resident, she will pay a fairly large chunk of change to attend USF. Not as much as UT's tuition, but it will be up there.

Since USF is a research university, and pouring hundreds of thousands of grant dollars into the campus, there are tremendous opportunities for undergrad and grad students in just about every field.

Hitch your wagon to the right prof and you can even pay for a lot of your costs through grant monies and even being a TA (if you're a grad student.)

RM (disclaimer - USF alum)

[CollegeProf]

Congrats to your daughter on getting accepted to UT as we call it. UT now has a wait list and is VERY quickly moving up in the rankings. The Sykes College of Business was just ranked #139 and has an excellent reputation with the business community. While I work there (and may be biased), I have worked at large state universities and small private schools. The latter is the way to go. UT has classes of 25-30 (sometimes much smaller) while USF has large (40-200+) classes taught by graduate students. I could go on and on...

Regarding the campus, it is VERY safe as other have noted. The area to the South (known as South Tampa) has some of the most affluent housing options in the area. The area North of campus is not that good. UT recommends students don't venture North of Cypress Street.

There are many excellent housing options in the area if you want your daughter to live off campus. Some are expensive, others more reasonable. Students who want to walk to campus often live in the new Element towers (most expensive) or in One Laurel Place or 345 Bayshore. The nice thing about living off campus is she won't have to move out during the semester break or over summer. Knowing what I know about the area, I would choose off campus housing primarily for convenience and because real estate is now at rock bottom (I hope) and this is a great time to pick up a place for a song! Compared to NJ (I used to live in New England), Tampa is a bargain!

Hope this helps. Contact me privately if you want more specific (and honest) details.

[Sunscape]

Right now Tampa is a bargain.
Great info from the College Professor!

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by CollegeProf

Congrats to your daughter on getting accepted to UT as we call it. UT now has a wait list and is VERY quickly moving up in the rankings. The Sykes College of Business was just ranked #139 and has an excellent reputation with the business community. While I work there (and may be biased), I have worked at large state universities and small private schools. The latter is the way to go. UT has classes of 25-30 (sometimes much smaller) while USF has large (40-200+) classes taught by graduate students. I could go on and on...

Regarding the campus, it is VERY safe as other have noted. The area to the South (known as South Tampa) has some of the most affluent housing options in the area. The area North of campus is not that good. UT recommends students don't venture North of Cypress Street.

There are many excellent housing options in the area if you want your daughter to live off campus. Some are expensive, others more reasonable. Students who want to walk to campus often live in the new Element towers (most expensive) or in One Laurel Place or 345 Bayshore. The nice thing about living off campus is she won't have to move out during the semester break or over summer. Knowing what I know about the area, I would choose off campus housing primarily for convenience and because real estate is now at rock bottom (I hope) and this is a great time to pick up a place for a song! Compared to NJ (I used to live in New England), Tampa is a bargain!

Hope this helps. Contact me privately if you want more specific (and honest) details.

This is great info. After I finish my BA in business at USF, I plan on attending the Sykes School of Business on that working professionals program. (every other saturday for 3 yrs i believe). UT grads, IMO have greater opportunities in the Tampa Bay area. They are almost like Masons in Tampa, haha. When I decided to make Tampa my home, I quickly realized that a any peice of paper from UT (especially in the business world) will go a little further in tampa than most other schools (one exception being UF, which has a lot of alumni in Tampa, and the business school is ranked like 36th in the nation)