Berklee College of Music: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Boston, Massachusetts · Private nonprofit · Selective · CDS 2024-2025
Berklee College of Music is a private nonprofit university in Boston, Massachusetts that admits about 50% of applicants, making it a selective school. The average family pays about $50,404 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Music, Computer Software and Media Applications and Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 6.2 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Berklee College of Music is a private institution located in Boston, Massachusetts with a selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Berklee College of Music admits between a quarter and half of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 50%. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $50,404 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Berklee College of Music is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Berklee College of Music?
Admitted students at Berklee College of Music typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores Berklee College of Music typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
How much does Berklee College of Music actually cost?
Published tuition is $50,270 for in-state students and $50,270 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $19,440 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $50,404 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 15% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| Average net price (after aid) | $50,404 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Berklee College of Music
Most popular majors at Berklee College of Music
The most popular undergraduate programs at Berklee College of Music, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Music, Computer Software and Media Applications and Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other. Across all programs, Berklee College of Music confers roughly 1,509 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Music program report a median income of about $33,368 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Music | 656 | $33,368 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | 379 | — |
| Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other | 174 | — |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | 167 | $54,487 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 66 | — |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | 34 | — |
| Dance | 20 | $19,056 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 13 | — |
Is Berklee College of Music safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Berklee College of Music disclosed 46 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 6.2 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 12 violent offenses and 17 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in Massachusetts parents ask about
- Harvard University3% acceptance
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology5% acceptance
- Boston University11% acceptance
- Boston College16% acceptance
- Tufts University10% acceptance
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst85% acceptance
- University of Massachusetts-Boston58% acceptance
- Northeastern University6% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Berklee College of Music
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Berklee College of Music recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Berklee College of Music
What GPA do I need for Berklee College of Music?
Admitted students at Berklee College of Music typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Berklee College of Music typically admit?
Berklee College of Music does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does Berklee College of Music actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Berklee College of Music after grants and scholarships is $50,404 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Berklee College of Music realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Berklee College of Music is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Berklee College of Music?
Berklee College of Music accepts about 50% of applicants. That makes it a selective school.
Is Berklee College of Music a public or private school, and where is it located?
Berklee College of Music is a private nonprofit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts.
What are the most popular majors at Berklee College of Music?
The largest undergraduate majors at Berklee College of Music by annual graduates are Music, Computer Software and Media Applications and Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other. The school awards about 1,509 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Berklee College of Music safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Berklee College of Music reported 46 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 6.2 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Berklee College of Music, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.