hi
well first of all, let me tell u that i was born in the dominican republic and that i attended UNIBE. so as a source, i think im pretty reliable.
anyway, to tell u a bit about santo domingo first:
it is true that there r many cases of people in motorcycles grabbing and stealing other people's purses, so when u r walking, just hold on to it consciously. same goes for ur cel phone, if u r speaking on it on the streets, mind ur surroundings and if there is someone suspicious just hold onto it tighter just in case.
it is not recommended to walk by urself at night. public transit REALLY SUCKS. it can get u around and its really cheap, like the equivalent of 50 cents maybe, but the cars are in veeeeeeeery bad conditions, and there r no regards for the safety of the passengers. lets just say they fit 2 people in the passenger's seat, and 4 in the back. and nobody has seatbelts. but also, in comparison to the states or canada, (i dont know where u r from), taxis are pretty cheap. but since u dont speak spanish, they might try to rip u off, so learn some spanish insults and pretend to leave, and they will call u back and lower the price.
nightclubs are really fun if u r interested in those things, the nightlife during the weekend can really be felt. but the problem is that the dominican society works around reputation, so people like to flaunt their money, clothes, and the high society people are quite snobby.
now, about UNIBE,
it is the most expensive university in the country, so most of the students there are from the high society. u will see that all the girls go with pounds of makeup and high heels, and are quite snobby, but even though it sounds like its kind of bad, it's actually very fun if u become part of it. i know it sounds shallow, but u will understand when u will get there.
most students who r enrolled in the english medicine program are from india and puerto rico actually. (either that, or those r the only ones ive seen hanging around). they are less of the snobby type because they are not that tied to the dominican culture, so u can also find refugee there
about renting, there are many many maaany apartment buildings surrounding the university, im pretty sure u wont have a hard time finding one. i think u will spend around 300 or 400 dollars in rent (the area is not very expensive, as opposed to the more southern part of the city).
most students in unibe have cars, and it is actually much easier to get around the city in a car, so if u can afford it, i'd recommend u get one. insurance is not very expensive as in the states or canada. (btw, i am living in canada now, thats how i know.)
well good luck! hope that i have been helpful!