About Berklee Housing/Meals/Operations

StacJip
Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:01:29 +0000

shellybean,
I thought I would chime in as I know quite a few kids at Berklee. My own son just started college down the street at NEC but he has lots of friends at Berklee.

I would not stress about the dining. Dining at Berklee is contracted out by Aramark a dining contractor that basically does all college dining in Eastern MA. It is not great, but it is manageable. Most kids can survive on it. And if they need more there are tons of eating establishments in and around Berklee. If your son eats Burritos then he will not starve and he can join what seems to be a major topic of conversation among Boston area college students about which place has the best Burritos for the least money. There is also a farmer’s market nearby and Whole Foods.

As for drugs. All Colleges (including the ivy league) have drinking and drug issues. You can cross the river to MIT and Harvard and there will be kids who are abusing or partying too much. There might be more at Berklee because Berklee admits a broad range of students. My son likes to say that Berklee admits kids whose tuition pays for the scholarships of the top tier kids. The kids my son knows who are at Berklee are mostly good kids. Many kids do not live in the dorms at Berklee. My son has a friend who did not get housing who is living in an apartment this year as a Freshman. Based on my observation the serious kids quickly find each other and stick together. Before long they are too busy working on their music to pay attention to the less serious kids.

On the other hand if your son is very sheltered and has not been exposed to a lot, attending a large school like Berklee can be a shock as an 18 year old. He might not have the ability to tune out the partying just yet. Some kids who are like that shut down when exposed to the partying and struggle to find people who are like them and to avoid the craziness. You need to know your kid. If he is on the younger side in terms of development and maturity then a gap year might be a good idea.