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8 Problems With Berklee

I have gone in depth about many of the milestones of Berklee, and while I obviously have a lot of good things to say about this music school (I do go there after all), I realize that it can also be even more informative to share the bad sides of a school as well. Berklee is not all fun and games, and there are some things that need to be changed about the school in my opinion.

1. You do not get to choose classes your first semester.

At other colleges I have attended, I have gotten leeway to make some kind of decision about the classes I could enroll in during my first semester, but at Berkle, I had absolutely none. Even with 18 transfer credits, and testing out of 12 more credits, I still had my schedule just handed to me with no decision of my own. The exception to this is some students who test out of intro to music technology get to choose one of their classes. Not much of a choice if you ask me. (Plus, Intro to Music Tech with Loudon Stearns actually turned out to be my favorite class).

2. You do not get to meet individually with a faculty advisor.

At other universities, during the first week students met individually with a member of the faculty to discuss majors, what classes would be necessary, and to create a plan to take these classes. At Berklee, while we did have a faculty member in our peer groups, there wasn't really a set time when each student could sit down and discuss a plan. Most of the advice I have gotten about what major to choose has come from talking to a wide array of alumni and current upper-semester students (and I will be sharing that so others can make more informed decisions).

3. If you know what you want from your music career, you won't need a lot of the classes.

Berklee is all about options. Some people consider this a great thing, but personally I feel that 90% of the material I am learning right now is completely irrelevant to what I want out of my music career. Now I don't necessarily blame Berklee for having a required set of courses-- every college has their core curriculum, and I think part of getting a college degree means sitting in classes that you will probably never use. But as an example, I was placed in a background singing class, and the current song we are working on is "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II men. Now I actually really like the song, and the class is entertaining, but I have no intention of becoming a background singer, and out of all the labs to choose from --if I had a choice-- I would not have chosen this one. It's simply not taking me closer to the goals I want to achieve with my music career.

4. It is really hard to get studio time, an ensemble room, a job, a dorm.

In a community containing thousands of serious musicians, it is very hard to get studio time. Berklee's studios are free, which means every person who wants to record a demo is booking studio time as soon as possible. If you want to improve your chances of getting in, make friends in the MP&E (Music Production and Engineering) department. Getting an ensemble room can be tough too; you will only need to use one of these if you want to practice with a band or a group of friends, but they can be very helpful. A general rule at Berklee is if you want something, ask for it. Then ask for it again. Then again. Then one more time. Persistence is the key if you want to be a part of their student employment program, or if you want to be considered for housing, or even if you want to get your transcript processed, which brings me to my next point.

5. If you do get studio time, Berklee gets the rights to your song.

Yes, that's right, you are actually told to sign a contract before you enter a Berklee recording studio. While these studios are free, they do come at a price, and that price means you can't sell anything you record in their studios. Just to clarify, they do not get the rights to the songs just to the actual recordings, so if you do plan on selling an album you will need to record elsewhere. (What a bummer...)

6. Many of the departments at Berklee are disorganized.

Before you actually get to Berklee, it can be really difficult to get things sorted out. It took several weeks of calling the registrar's office to get my transcript processed, and I know several others who had problems with this too. As well as this, the housing department takes a very long time to get back to those who don't receive housing, giving them very limited time to find apartments. If you need something to happen at Berklee, make sure it is happening, because if you haven't heard anything it's probably not.

7. Where are my transfer credits...?

Starting the Fall 2009 semester, Berklee will be changing its transfer credit policy, and will be accepting a very limited amount of credits. This cuts out the option of taking all your liberal arts classes at a community college and then coming to Berklee-- they want you to take all your classes there, basically.

8. It's hard to get reliable information.

If you aren't actually meeting someone at the Berklee campus, it can be really hard to get information about any questions you may have. I had a lot of questions about Berklee when I was still in the application process, and only after attending did I discover the answers. Ironically enough, that's why this whole Berklee section of Musicians-Make-It.com was created!

Summing it up:

Overall, Berklee is a great school and it definitely provides students with a lot of options. But be warned, if you want something to happen here, you have to make it happen. You can't be afraid to pester people and to stand your ground. Keep in mind what you really want from your music career and apply whatever information from your classes you can to that. One of the great things about Berklee is that you do have the option to use the music you love as material for study, which allows for a lot more freedom than most colleges, but it is up to you to use the freedom you are given, even if it means putting in a little more work.

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