Berklee College of Music Top Questions

To students: Follow your guts. Learn about the colleges you're considering. Know about the city, the climate, etc. And once you're there, make friends everywhere you go, because you never know who is going to get you a job in the future. Studying and getting good grades is important, but not as important as networking! To parents: Make sure you are comfortable with the tuition , the location of the college, and living situation. These are important factors to consider. Although parents can forget about tuition (student loans) in order to keep peace of mind, make sure you check out the area where the student is going to live in if it's off-campus. Make sure it's not too far. Paying an extra $200 of rent may be worth it. Trust me.

The best advice I can give students about choosing the right college is that you have to trust your instincts. I visited MANY colleges in my senior year and walked right back to my car within 5 minutes of visiting a few of them. You know whether or not you will be happy on a particular campus right away. I walked into Berklees main building and felt that I fit there. I saw people that resembled my friends from home, people that looked interesting that I wanted to get to know and people who smiled at me as they walked by, making me feel like they wanted to get to know me too. And when you finally get there, DON'T WASTE IT! Make tons of friends, study hard, have fun and get your monies worth. You're not paying $50,000+ dollars a year to binge drink it all away. The best way to get the full college experience is this; Soak up every bit of knowledge you possibly can from your professors, your peers and your new life experiences. And remember to develop strong friendships, because the friends you make in college will be your friends for life.

To Students, Do your best in school. Make the best grades you can and more importantly, learn as much as you can and enjoy having knowledge. Don't waste your time with underage drinking or drugs because they get you know where in life and their effects (though they seem beneficial at the time) last for only a little while and your school work will still be there. Choose a fiel that you will enjoy and work hard in it. Always ask your teachers for help and if you don't need help, build relationships with them anyway because their recommendation letters and their support with help when you need scholarships or recommendations for graduate school! Have fun and Learn much! To Parents, Keep encouraging your kids always no matter what in whatever it is that makes them happy! Stay involved but not too involved in their lives in the beginning of college. They feel embarassed now, but will Thank you later!

From my experience, first of all, I would recommend to make a decision about one career that the student best likes. The student has to make sure that the chosen career is what they can see themselves doing for the next couple of years. They have to feel comfortable and enjoy what they're doing. The student has to choose something they really really like and are good at. They have to find their passion. After this long term of deciding on what career to choose from, the students and parents can go on to looking for colleges that provide that career. It is best to start looking for colleges at least 2 years before the student graduates from high school, just to make sure of what they want. Searching online and sometimes visiting the campus can help a great deal in learning about the different careers, and what they offer. You can also check on the school's website for references and about more detailed information such as college life and its natural surroundings. My final advise is...aim for the best. Never settle for the most convenient. Everything is possible with a little bit of condfidence.

Choose a school that is right for you, and has a program that you truly want and also has backup programs that you are interested in incase you change your mind. Don't just settle on a school for it's name, appearance, or who goes/went there. Go to a place that is right for you!

I would first say to definately look at the school first before making any final decisions. You need to feel out a school and maybe sit in on some classes and shadow a student for a day to see how you like it. Also be weary of the location and what things are around the school, and whether or not you like a city atmosphere or country. Look into the post graduate jobs they school can help you get as well. You need to basically research as much as possible before making a decision. Once there, work hard, but also try to make friends and have a good social experience so you're not burried in your books and stressed out all the time!