Next Steps

As a Berklee family member, we know how important it is for you to be informed as your student prepares to begin their Berklee journey. The Admissions offices for Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee have each put together specific next steps and important conversations to have for entering undergraduate students. The New Student and Family Programs team encourages you to review those and work on completing each task prior to arrival to campus for the semester.

Preparing for Berklee

In addition to reviewing and completing the next steps from Admissions, it’s important to understand some of the important differences between high school and college, and how those differences impact your preparation for Berklee as a family member.

Pre-Arrival

Communication

When your student is accepted to Berklee, one of the major differences is that all of their communications about upcoming deadlines and information regarding processes such as the housing application, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the health insurance waiver and immunization requirements, and so on will all go to their Berklee email address. Admissions will send communications reminding students to begin checking their Berklee email addresses; however, it is important to remind your student to check as well in order to make sure that they're set up for success prior to arrival.

Accommodations

Another difference between high school and college is in regard to obtaining accommodations. Our Department of Accessibility Resources for Students encourages students to make appointments to discuss any academic, housing, dietary, or other accommodations for the academic year. It is up to the student to advocate for their needs, and we encourage you to have a conversation with your student about that change.

Access to Information

Once your student arrives at Berklee, all of their academic records, financial information, billing, student discipline files, and so on are only communicated with them. These records can only be released with their consent by signing a FERPA (login required) release form. We encourage you to have a conversation with your student prior to arrival about how you will be partners in their educational journey and the level of access, if any, they wish to grant you.

Arriving at Berklee

Arrival to Campus

Your arrival at Berklee will depend upon whether your student is living on or off campus. If your student signed up and is confirmed for living on campus, the Office of Housing and Residential Education will provide move-in instructions, procedures, dates, and times to your student via their Berklee email address. If your student is living off campus, your student's lease may not begin at the traditional start of orientation as leases typically begin on September 1 in the Greater Boston area. If this is the case, we recommend checking out the hotels and accommodations section of the main student orientation page.

Semester Check-In

At Berklee, students have to check in for the semester in order to confirm that they are enrolled. In order to do so, Berklee College of Music students must log into my.berklee.edu, select the Semester Check-In link, and then click "Check-In." It is very important that your student makes sure all of their restrictions are cleared prior to the end of the check-in period in order to be enrolled for the semester.

For Boston Conservatory at Berklee students, check-in information can be found here (login required).

Throughout the Year

Our office knows that as soon as your student arrives, you're already preparing for them to visit home for breaks. You can view the important dates for the academic year on the academic calendar. It's important to note that your student may have varying dates of arrival and departure due to their orientation dates, final exams, and other factors.

You can also view the dates that Berklee is closed, either for classes or administrative offices, for various observed holidays. It's good to plan early, especially for busy travel periods such as Thanksgiving break.