Private nonprofit · College

Berklee College of Music

Boston, Massachusetts · Large city

43.5%
Admit rate
$49,465
Avg net price
67%
Graduation rate
$33,647
Median earnings

Berklee College of Music is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Boston, Massachusetts (large city setting), enrolling 7,468 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitMidsize · 7,468 undergradsLarge citySelective · 44% admitCold wintersSnowyNear the coast

About Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. In 1630, settlers led by John Winthrop arrived, and found Shawmut Peninsula nearly empty of Native people. Most had died of European diseases borne by earlier settlers and traders. Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the non-rhotic Eastern New England accent known as the Boston accent and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood, salt, and dairy products. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
2 miles to Boston, MA
To the ocean
2 miles
Nearest airport
4 miles to Boston Logan (BOS) · major hub

How Berklee College of Music compares

Selectivity43.5%

More selective than 87% · #18 most selective of 63 in Massachusetts

Graduation rate67%

Higher than 73% · #37 of 66 in Massachusetts

First-year retention89%

Higher than 84%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$33,647

Higher than 5% · #66 of 67 in Massachusetts

Average net price$49,465

Cheaper than 1% · #65 cheapest of 65 in Massachusetts

Median debt at graduation$25,000

Lower than 34%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment7,468

Larger than 85%

Percentiles compare Berklee College of Music with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Massachusetts.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

8,288students
  • Undergraduate7,46890%
  • Graduate82010%

Undergraduates by gender

7,468undergrads
  • Women2,69536%
  • Men4,77364%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White37%
  • Black6.2%
  • Hispanic13%
  • Asian5.7%
  • Other or multiracial38%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
7,468
Graduate enrollment
820
Student–faculty ratio
9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
16%
First-generation students
21%
Students over 25
17%
Median family income
$50,454
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$97,533
Endowment
$426,384,464

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
43.5%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$52,040
Room & board
$19,930
Books & supplies
$1,085
Total cost of attendance
$72,700
Average net price
$49,465

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
67%
Graduated on time (4 years)
50%
First-year retention
89%
Transferred to another college
6%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$26,462
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$33,647
Median debt at graduation
$25,000
Students with federal loans
34%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
58%

About 17% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
50%
Low-income (Pell)
38%
First-generation
41%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
1,519
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
20%
Application fee
$150

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.6 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
30
Property offenses (2022–2024)
9

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (8,369 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

13reported offenses a year
10 violent a year3.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
5.7
Rape
3.0
Burglary
3.0
Robbery
1.0
Statutory rape
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$42,734
$30–48k
$37,987
$48–75k
$47,799
$75–110k
$46,801
$110k+
$54,676

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$209,347

$47,799/year × about 4.4 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

66%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$21,593
average award, among those who get one

Berklee College of Music discounts heavily: 66% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $21,593. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 1,489 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$33,647
Typical debt at graduation
$25,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
74%
Out-earn a HS grad
37%

Typical debt would take roughly 7.4 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$34,803
Men
$33,411

Women out-earn men by $1,392 (4%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
85°F
Winter low
19°F
Annual rain
49.4″
Annual snow
49.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.55.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Jamaica Plain, MA US station (3.5 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Berklee College of Music

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Berklee College of Music side by side →

Colleges near Berklee College of Music

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.