College · Private nonprofit · Boston, MA · City
Berklee College of Music
Boston, MA
Admit rate44%
6-yr median pay$26k
Net price / yr$49k
Undergrad size7,468
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $49k/yr for a shot at a $26k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 44% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter.
If you get in
7,468 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $73k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $49k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$291k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$198k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$93k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback7.5x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $52.0k
- Room & board
- $19.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,085
How students pay for it.
Pell grants16%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans34%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$25k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $11k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr67%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$26k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$34k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out6%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 7,468
- Location
- Boston, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- Berklee School of Music
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White37%
- International32%
- Hispanic13%
- Black6%
- Asian6%
- Two or more races5%
- Unknown2%
First-gen students21%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time20%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$50k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 9
What you can study.