Cost, debt & salary

Is Berklee College of Music worth it? What it costs, and what graduates earn

You would borrow a median $25,000 — about $284 a month for ten years. Graduates earn a median $33,647 ten years after starting, so the debt clears in roughly — years of the salary premium.

Is it worth the money?

The figures below are what the US Department of Education publishes for this university.

You borrow $25,000 median federal debt at graduation
You repay $284/mo standard 10-year federal plan
You earn $33,647 median, 10 years after entry · beats 1%
Debt clears in — yrs of the salary premium

What that feels like each month Repayment against the salary that has to cover it.

Gross monthly pay
$2,804
Loan repayment
$284
Share of your pay
10.1%
0%15% — the comfort line25%

Under roughly 15% of gross pay, repayment is generally considered manageable alongside rent and living costs.

Cut the debt before you borrow it

We do not list an award tied specifically to Berklee College of Music yet — but national, country and subject scholarships still apply to students heading there, and each one cuts the $25,000 above.

Browse scholarships for the USA →

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How Berklee College of Music compares Against the 810 US universities we grade on payback.

The typical graded university clears its debt in 1.3 years on median earnings of $57,146 against $22,500 of debt. Berklee College of Music sits inside that set.

Nearby universityGradeDebtEarningsPayback
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts A $14,768 $143,372 0.1 yrs
Harvard University Massachusetts A $14,000 $101,817 0.2 yrs
Wellesley College Massachusetts A $10,000 $84,803 0.2 yrs
Babson College Massachusetts A $20,000 $123,938 0.2 yrs
Williams College Massachusetts A $12,761 $88,665 0.3 yrs

Berklee College of Music — the money questions

How much do graduates of Berklee College of Music earn?
Median earnings are $33,647 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled — from tax records, not a survey. That is higher than 1% of the US universities we hold figures for.
How much debt will I have at Berklee College of Music?
The median graduate leaves with $25,000 of federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $284 a month — roughly 10.1% of the median graduate's monthly pay before tax.
How long does a degree from Berklee College of Music take to pay for itself?
About — years of the salary premium — the amount graduates earn above the $39,520 a US worker with only a high-school diploma makes.
Can scholarships reduce this debt?
We do not currently list a scholarship tied specifically to Berklee College of Music, but national and subject-based awards still apply — start from our scholarships listing.
Do these numbers apply to my subject?
No. The Department of Education publishes one figure per institution, so nursing, engineering and fine art students at Berklee College of Music all sit inside the same median. Treat it as the size of the financial risk, not a salary forecast for your course.
Berklee College of Music profile Programmes at Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music scholarships Berklee College of Music review & grade Compare with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Payback across Massachusetts What Berklee College of Music costs Student loan record SAT scores & admission Fastest-paying US degrees Lowest student debt How we calculate this

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard — earnings and debt cover students who received federal financial aid and blend every subject taught at the institution. Figures imported 28 Aug 2026. This page is information, not financial advice.