As you explore your college options, you are probably basing your evaluations upon a number of factors such as distance from home, cost of tuition, and availability of academic programs. But there’s one other feature of college campuses that can be quite important to many students (and especially to their parents). Have you considered each school’s relative level of safety?
Of course, life is unpredictable and no one can say with absolute certainty that you will be safer in one environment versus another. But if you or your parents are interested in investigating this aspect of college life, you might be interested to know that Niche.com has released a list of the 25 safest college campuses in California. Based upon data from the US Department of Education, this list was compiled from statistics regarding crime rates, drug and alcohol use, and reviews from actual students.
So what are the top 25 safest colleges in the state?
- Brandman University (Irvine, CA)
- National University (La Jolla CA)
- Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (Los Angeles, CA)
- California College (San Diego, CA)
- Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts (San Mateo, CA)
- The Master’s University (Santa Clarita, CA)
- Foothill College (Los Altos Hills, CA)
- Laguna College of Art and Design (Laguna Beach, CA)
- Hope International University (Fullerton, CA)
- San Joaquin Valley University (Visalia, CA)
- University of Antelope Valley (Lancaster, CA)
- Mount Saint Mary’s University (Los Angeles, CA)
- Menlo College (Atherton, CA)
- Unitek College (Fremont, CA)
- Fresno Pacific University (Fresno, CA)
- West Coast University (Ontario, CA)
- Point Loma Nazarene University (San Diego, CA)
- Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
- San Diego Christian College (Santee, CA)
- Otis College of Art and Design (Los Angeles, CA)
- MiraCosta College (Oceanside, CA)
- VanGuard University of Southern California (Costa Mesa, CA)
- Skyline College (San Bruno, CA)
- Loma Linda University (Loma Linda, CA)
- University of La Verne (La Verne, CA)
If your favorite schools don’t show on this list, that doesn’t necessarily mean that their campuses are unsafe. But if safety is highly important to you, it wouldn’t hurt to check on their campus crime statistics. Discuss this issue with your parents as you continue to investigate different environments, so you can choose the one that suits you best.