Safety may connote patrol cars and uniformed security, but college safety actually encompasses an array of student health, wellness, and security issues. Campus safety doesn't just mean low crime rates and the lack of a party scene—though it could mean those things—it also includes low rates of discrimination, a strong VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) presence, and a number of services and programs that maintain the holistic wellness of their students.
Whether you want to attend a small liberal arts college or a large research university, safety should be a huge consideration before putting together those application materials. Clearly, if you've landed on this ranking, you are thinking about attending a larger school, perhaps one with tens of thousands of students and substantive academic opportunities, athletic programs, and a vibrant social life. Perhaps you're wondering how safe a large school can actually be.
Though it may make sense to assume that the smaller the university or college, the safer it is, and therefore vice versa: the larger the university the more dangerous it is. But it's just not true. In fact, one of the safest universities in the country is also one of the largest (see number 50). Because of their size, the colleges and universities below are able to employ substantive safety departments, create an array of preventative programs, and implement innovative technology in their safety procedures and plans. Either way, whether a university enrolls 1,000 or 65,000 undergraduates, safety is a key component to a healthy campus. This is why College Choice has created the ultimate list of the safest large (15,000 or more students) colleges and universities. To see our ranking for the 50 safest small colleges and universities, head here.
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What are the safest large universities?
At College Choice we believe in providing the most thorough data that reflects our extensive and exhaustive research findings. To find the safest colleges we have combed through those campuses, as well as their local cities and neighbors, that boast the lowest crime rates. We further pared from there by collating the reported crime activities from each school for the past three years. We pulled data on the respective school's general crime report as well as the number of documented hate crimes, violence against women, arrests made, fire incidences, and discipline enforced activities for each in the last three years.
More on the Data Points:
General safety grade:
The general safety grade takes into account the past three years of theft, assault, arson, and other offense.
Anti-discrimination grade: This reflects the number of hate crimes reported by a school over the past three years.
Women's safety grade: This reflects the overall VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) offenses that have occurred in the past three years, including domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
Party scene grade: This takes into account the number of drug and alcohol incidents a campus reported over the past five years.
Fire safety grade: This reflects the number of reported fires in the past three years.
Our data comes the U.S. Department of Education, as well as from the university and colleges' websites, U.S. News & World Report, and The National Center for Education Statistics.
Feature Image: Ziga Plahutar / E+ / Getty Images
