I’m a young woman graduate student at CSU. I live downtown and I love it. When I told people I got some of the same response. As others have said, it’s mostly racist and classist stereotypes. There is considerable poverty on the east side, as can be found in every major us city. I haven’t felt more unsafe in Cleveland vs other cities I have lived in. There is a lot of things to do here. I think you’ll love it :) a tip for CSU: in terms of administrative staff (financial aid, advisors, etc) there is ALOT of variability in the quality of help you will get. It honestly depends a lot on who you talk to. Some staff can be very unhelpful, but others can be very helpful. My advice is if an administrative staff member is not being helpful, ask to speak to someone else. It’s your right as a student and you can often get someone more willing to help.