by our College Data Analytics TeamThis guide covers the real cost of attending Berklee College of Music, spanning what it costs to attend, projected costs over a degree, net price, debt outcomes, and aid equity.
If you want to dig into a particular figure, jump to any section below:
Published attendance costs at Berklee College of Music works out to about $69,874.00 per year.
Cost is shown below as the full sticker price, the average net price after aid, and the low-income net price.
| Tuition and fees | $52,040.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $17,834.00 |
| Total cost | $69,874.00 |
| That is 113% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $69,874.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$23,235.00 |
| Net price | $46,639.00 |
| That is 42% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $69,874.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$29,966.00 |
| Net price | $39,908.00 |
| That is 22% above the national average net price. | |
| For the full breakdown, see the tuition & fees page plus room and board. |
Published costs have climbed year over year at a recent average of 3.6% a year, so a full degree will cost more than a single year — the tables below carry that forward. The projections below run a full degree for a low-income aided student, an average-aid student, and the full sticker price. Loan totals assume a ten-year repayment at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| Freshman year | $41,345.00 | $48,319.00 | $72,390.00 |
| Senior year | $45,975.00 | $53,729.00 | $80,497.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $174,532.00 | $203,969.00 | $305,583.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $66,490.00 | $77,705.00 | $116,416.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $2,009.00 | $2,347.00 | $3,517.00 |
| Total amount paid | $241,022.00 | $281,673.00 | $422,000.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| Freshman year | $41,345.00 | $48,319.00 | $72,390.00 |
| Senior year | $42,834.00 | $50,059.00 | $74,998.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $84,180.00 | $98,378.00 | $147,388.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $32,069.00 | $37,478.00 | $56,150.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $969.00 | $1,132.00 | $1,696.00 |
| Total amount paid | $116,249.00 | $135,856.00 | $203,538.00 |
See the full net-price breakdown in the net-price section.
The net price is the real out-of-pocket cost — what families pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied. This is the more honest cost figure for most families, since it accounts for institutional and federal aid.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $49,465.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $50,404.00 |
Net price varies sharply by family income, dropping as need-based aid grows. The figures below give average net price by income bracket:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $38,537.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $39,205.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $46,723.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $50,150.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $56,371.00 |
Run your own numbers with the Berklee College of Music Net Price Calculator, or contact the financial aid office.
Want to know how that aid is awarded? See the financial aid page.
Median graduate debt at Berklee College of Music is $15,750.00, placing the school in the Low ($10-20k) debt-load classification.
Across borrowers, debt at graduation distributes like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $3,166.00 |
| 25th | $5,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $15,750.00 |
| 75th | $25,950.00 |
| 90th | $31,000.00 |
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is one signal of how variable debt outcomes are across the student body.
Dig deeper into debt on the student loan debt detail.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. The table below divides borrowers into three income tiers:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,036.00 |
| Middle income | $15,750.00 |
| High income | $15,250.00 |
On average, low-income graduates leave with $786.00 more debt than their high-income peers.
Whether your parents attended college is associated with differences in median debt at graduation.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,992.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,250.00 |
First-generation borrowers from Berklee College of Music leave with $742.00 more than continuing-generation graduates.
Pell Grant eligibility is a useful proxy for low-income status among undergraduates. The Pell vs non-Pell debt gap reveals how borrowing differs by need.
The Pell-versus-non-Pell median debt difference at Berklee College of Music amounts to $3,876.00. This school carries a federal Pell-debt-inequity flag.
The default-rate category at Berklee College of Music is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 10.3% |
For a sense of scale, Stafford disbursements at Berklee College of Music amount to $311,243,523.00 over 16,178 loan recipients.
Veterans and active-duty servicemembers can tap dedicated federal aid programs like the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD tuition assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 214 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $11,783.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 54 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $3,337.00 |
Dig into veteran education benefits on the veteran aid breakdown.
The data above is a foundation; round it out by asking yourself about Berklee College of Music, keep these questions in mind:
Explore the related pages below for a deeper look at the cost picture:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.