Berklee College of Music
Boston, Massachusetts · Private Nonprofit · 43.5% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 20/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Berklee College of Music posts an ROI score of 20 out of 100 and lands in the Below Benchmark tier. The pain points are obvious in the numbers: a $52,040 sticker tuition, a $49,465 net price (meaning aid trims only about $2,500 off list), and a total four-year cost north of $197,000. Against that price tag, average graduate earnings six years out are $25,700, climbing only to a median $33,647 at the ten-year mark. The debt-to-earnings ratio is 0.97, and Scorecard reports a 999-year payback period, which is the system's way of saying the earnings premium over a typical high school graduate effectively never recoups the cost. The one bright spot is a 67.3% completion rate. The repayment rate of 69.6% is mediocre. If you want a music conservatory experience and that is non-negotiable, Berklee is what it is; the draw is the music, and the figures above are what it costs.
How Berklee College of Music scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score20/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- Payback period>50 years - In our estimate, the earnings premium over a high school completer is small next to the cost, so the cost may not be recouped within a working career.
Berklee College of Music
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $52,040/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $52,040/yr |
| Average net price | $49,465/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $197,860 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $33,647 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $25,700 |
| Median debt at graduation | $25,000 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $265 |
| Estimated payback period | >50 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 67.3% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 7,468 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $52,040/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $49,465/year, or roughly $197,860 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $42,734/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $54,676/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $25,000, which works out to about $265 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($25,700) and comes to 0.97, under 1.0, meaning median debt is less than a full year of those earnings.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $42,734 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $37,987 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $47,799 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $46,801 |
| $110,001+ | $54,676 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families earning under $30,000 face a $42,734 net price, and the $30,001-$48,000 band sees $37,987. These are the lowest figures in Berklee's grid but still represent roughly $150,000-$170,000 over four years for households earning less than that in a single year. Combined with median ten-year earnings of $33,647, the math is essentially unworkable without major external scholarships.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
Middle-income brackets fare worse, not better: the $48,001-$75,000 band pays $47,799 and $75,001-$110,000 pays $46,801. The grid is effectively inverted between low and middle income, with middle-income families paying about $5,000 to $10,000 more per year than the lowest tier. Over four years, middle-class families are absorbing roughly $190,000 in net cost against modest expected earnings.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Families above $110,000 pay $54,676 per year, more than full sticker tuition once fees and living costs are included, which is normal for high-income brackets. The opportunity cost still bites, but the household can absorb it.
Earnings by Major
Top 7 most popular majors at Berklee College of Music with available earnings data.
| Major | Median Earnings | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Music | $38,617 | F |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | $40,186 | F |
| Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other | $48,069 | D |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | $59,703 | C |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | $36,349 | C |
| Dance | $35,702 | F |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other | $37,117 | F |
Earnings reflect median 4-year post-completion (or 1-year where 4-year unavailable). Grades based on debt-to-earnings ratio.
Program Analysis
Why these programs deliver their earnings outcomes.
Music
Music is Berklee's flagship and largest program at 625 graduates, but the numbers are sobering. Median earnings one year out are just $18,177, climbing to $38,617 at four years. Median debt of $24,979 produces a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.37, and the program earns an F ROI grade. Career outcomes are bimodal, with a small number of graduates landing well-paying production, scoring, or touring work while the median graduate works gig-to-gig.
Computer Software and Media Applications
This program, which includes Berklee's music technology and game audio tracks, graduates 440 students annually. Debt-to-earnings of 1.39 and an F ROI grade reflect that students are paying conservatory prices for production-focused training that the broader tech market does not pay a software-tier premium for.
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies
Berklee's engineering-adjacent technologies track (largely audio engineering) graduates 215 students with first-year earnings of $26,827 and four-year earnings of $48,069. The $26,000 median debt produces a 0.97 debt-to-earnings ratio and a D grade. This is one of the better-paying paths from Berklee.
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management
Arts management is Berklee's best-performing major by ROI, with 154 graduates earning a one-year median of $40,324 and a four-year median of $59,703. Debt of $26,375 against a 0.65 debt-to-earnings ratio earns a C grade, the strongest in Berklee's portfolio.
Visual and Performing Arts, Other
This catch-all performing arts category posts the weakest numbers on campus: first-year earnings of $13,771 and a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.96, the worst in Berklee's program portfolio and a clear F grade. Graduate counts are suppressed in the data. Anyone considering this track should weigh the financial outcomes carefully.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 61.8% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 69.6% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 69.0% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 72.3% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Berklee College of Music’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Acceptance rate | 43.5% |
| Enrollment | 7,468 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 16.2% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $10,837 |
Berklee admits 43.5% of applicants, which understates how competitive entry actually is because admission turns heavily on audition and portfolio rather than on test scores. SAT and ACT mid-ranges are not reported, consistent with a school that does not weight standardized testing for music admissions. The 67.3% completion rate is solid for a private arts school and reflects that admitted students are typically already serious, prepared performers when they arrive.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berklee College of Music (this school) | 20 | $49,465 | $33,647 |
| Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music | 32 | $7,260 | $19,474 |
| The Juilliard School | 27 | $43,571 | $37,827 |
| The New England Conservatory of Music | 25 | $46,754 | $34,483 |
| Manhattan School of Music | 20 | $51,754 | $26,878 |
| Cleveland Institute of Music | 20 | $28,226 | $32,641 |
Who Thrives Here
With 7,468 students and a Pell rate of only 16.2%, Berklee draws a relatively affluent national and international student body. The school fits a narrow profile: students with serious musical talent, family resources or major scholarship funding to absorb a near-$200,000 sticker, and career plans that treat earnings as a secondary concern. For working-class students dependent on loans, borrowing carries more weight, with median grads still earning well under $35,000 a decade out. The 67% completion rate suggests that students who get in do tend to finish.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Berklee College of Music scores 20/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $49,465 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $33,647 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97 (median across the schools we score: 0.61), a three-year loan repayment rate of 69.6% (median across the schools we score: 73.6%), a long payback period.
Median debt of $25,000 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $25,700 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. Your major - and how much you borrow - really matters.
Berklee College of Music: Common Questions
Is Berklee College of Music worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Berklee College of Music scores 20/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $49,465 a year after aid against $33,647 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Berklee College of Music cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $49,465 a year, or roughly $197,860 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Berklee College of Music graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $33,647 ten years after enrolling, at or below the $41,800 median for high-school graduates (NCES, 2022). With little earnings gap to cover the cost, the financial return is hard to make.
How long does it take to pay off Berklee College of Music?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at more than 50 years for Berklee College of Music. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Berklee College of Music graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $25,000, against average earnings of $25,700 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. How much you borrow really matters.
What is the graduation rate at Berklee College of Music?
The six-year graduation rate is 67.3%, at or above the 64% national average for four-year schools (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
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Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.