Sort By:
[Date]
[Major]
[Rating]
| Quite Bright |
You get out of Bezerklee Pool of Mucus what you put into it.
There is a 50% drop out the first year because frankly most of the people there are NOT musicians, they are posers.
Berklee has a very tough 1st year which weeds out the wanna-be's.
DO NOT depend on this school making you a great musician. In fact, count on them ruining your style with too much thinking.
That being said, it is AWESOME for learning theory. Then walk away from the theory and let the soil of time cover the seeds, then the seeds sprout and you simply KNOW how to play, no thinking needed.
And DO NOT expect the degree to get you a job and place but Japan. ESPECIALLY in Boston.
Internships, networking, gigging out, connections are the key.
I was a so-so student at Berklee, but I understood the value of internships. And so I had a job even before graduation. The hot shot student engineer??? He was unemployed and had to go back to Germany.
My path at Berklee led me to where I am now. I didn't expect it, but I would not change it.
Good luck! | Starting Job: Audio Engineer, Preparedness: B, Reputation: D+ |  | |
| | Jul 01 2008 | Alumnus Male --
Class 2000 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
Just copy and paste!
<script src='http://www.studentsreview.com/active/shared/sr_comment.js?sckey=51197&uid=562'></script>
<a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a>
|
|
|
|
| Quite Bright |
I never actually attended this school. I went to another school down the street for two years... and somehow, all (seriously, all) of my friends ended up being berklee students. This is what I have to say: out of my closest 15 friends who went there:
4 - dropped out (one after a year).
2- have a "song writing" dream but no real talent.
3- are in majors like composition and music therapy and have potential.
and 6 have graduated (only 2 of these are actually in a band that's gaining importance).
anyway, there's some food for thought. Most of the people I know who go/went there had a fun time but think it was pretty much a waste of money.
I personally think you should go to school for something you can make money doing while you simultaneously persue a musical career. Because in the end the main thing that got my two friends ahead was the connections of one of their band members and his daddy's money. The other ones with talent are now stuck working at coffee shops and book stores for $8/hr.
then again, who knows how things will go?
oh well, that's life huh?
Whatever you choose: Good Luck! | Preparedness: F, Reputation: F | | |
| | Dec 24 2008 | Alumna Female --
Class 2000 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
Just copy and paste!
<script src='http://www.studentsreview.com/active/shared/sr_comment.js?sckey=56445&uid=562'></script>
<a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a>
|
|
|
|
| Quite Bright |
I sincerely apologize to those of you reading this who have their hearts set on Berklee, but I feel that I must say this, and I hope you read this carefully:
Do not waste your time here. I spent loads of money on a summer program, which turned out to be most unhelpful, disorganized, and unchallenging. When I applied as a full-time student, the audition and interview process was extremely disorganized---my audition time was cut in half because they were running 2 hours behind. The rest of the process was disastrous as well---they "misplaced" one of the most important parts of my application (which I had hand-delivered to them), and my admissions counselor was unhelpful, indifferent, and generally never knew what was going on or what her job was.
If you were a good student academically in high school, I STRONGLY suggest that you avoid coming to Berklee at all costs. No one there gives a hoot about how smart you are or how hard you work---they only care about how talented you are right from the start. If you have trouble learning a concept, you will not find any help from the faculty. I deeply regret having wasted my time and money here. Also, if you're used to being in honors or accelerated academic classes in high school, you will be extremely frustrated with the general disregard of a holistic education both by the faculty and especially the students. They may tell you that in order to succeed in the industry, you only need to have a background in music and practical experience. They're wrong. While those things are extremely important, you also need to be very intelligent in other ways. You can't make a name for yourself or advance your career if you don't know who you are, if you don't have a deep understanding of people and the way the world works, and if you haven't had experience working with people who have different interests than you. All of these discoveries and experiences are an integral part of a strong liberal arts education, which is an integral part in preparing for and positioning yourself for a successful career in the music industry---a VERY people-based industry.
Also, you do not need to attend Berklee in order to pursue your dream. I have (proudly) decided to attend American University over Berklee. I have found that I can learn MUCH more about the industry by reading books, doing a little research online, and making contacts. If need be, you can always buy books online from BerkleePress and learn the material on your own for a much lower price and MUCH more quickly than if you attend the actual courses.
Also remember: while other colleges and universities may not have a record label, songwriting club, or music magazine/publication etc, YOU can always be the one to start them up. It’s not too hard, either. Plus, you then get to be in charge of how things are run, and being an entrepreneur like this looks WAY better on your resume than if you had simply participated in preexisting establishments.
Other reasons to invest your time and money somewhere else:
-You probably won’t get housing at Berklee, and if you do, it will be very ill equipped.
-You probably won’t get a scholarship or any financial aid.
-If you need to work with students from other departments (such as graphic design, finance, journalism, photography) for your projects and pursuits, YOU WON’T FIND THEM AT BERKLEE. Yes, Berklee is a music school. But ask yourself: when in your lifetime will you ever be working with ONLY musicians? The answer is never. And this is a huge disadvantage when it comes to attending Berklee. You won’t have experience working with a wide variety of professionals, and you won’t have the opportunity to make contacts with people who will be able to help you out in big ways that aren’t necessarily directly related to music.
I really wish that fewer people believed that they NEED to attend Berklee to do what they want to do in life. That’s just not the case. You’re better off where you are valued more and where you will have your real needs met. | Social Life: A-, Individual Value: F | | | |
| | Apr 23 2008 | 1st Year Female --
Class 2011 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
Just copy and paste!
<script src='http://www.studentsreview.com/active/shared/sr_comment.js?sckey=46448&uid=562'></script>
<a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a>
|
|
|
|
 |
Articles
