About Berklee Housing/Meals/Operations

StacJip
Fri, 06 Jul 2012 21:27:48 +0000

I am so sorry to hear that. My son attended Berklee’s five week program last summer and he actually liked his living situation. He lived in the dorms on Commonwealth Avenue, and although they were hot and it lacked air conditioning, he really loved living there. He did not complain at all about the cafeteria food, but then again he is a picky eater and probably didn’t mind that it was mostly carbs. He did say that he had to force himself to eat from the salad bar and thinks he got sick because he was not eating particularly well. Then again I have two older kids who have had their share of horrible institution food. My daughter even had trouble the semester she was president of her sorority and had to live in the sorority house. She tried hard to get the chef to cook more healthy meals but it was extremely difficult. My son attends a school that uses ARMARK for it’s dining. Many colleges in the Boston area use ARMARK. He complains endlessly. Last year we bought him a rice cooker and that seemed to help because he could steam vegetables, which he took from the salad bar at school and eat them with brown rice.

So many college kids in the area live off campus that I doubt she will have a problem finding a place. I know a friend of mine was very worried when her daughter, who attends Northeastern insisted on living in an apartment her sophomore year, but it all worked out and my friend said her daughter really liked the freedom it gave her to pack lunches and cook her own food.

My son is going to be a freshman at NEC and will live in the dorms. But after that he is thinking/hoping that he will get an apartment with some friends of his who will be attending Berklee.

As for communication during the blackout. I wouldn’t blame Berklee too much for that. The City of Boston seriously messed up and many people were frustrated and angry because they had no idea what was going on. I met one disabled person who was very upset because she depends on power for so many things and was constantly being misled by officials during the blackout about how long and what was she should expect. I suspect Berklee officials were equally clueless during the blackout.

Finally Berklee is a large school. What you are experiencing is really typical of a large school regardless of what type of school it is. Your daughter could of been at Northeastern and had exactly the same experience. On the other hand if she were at a small liberal arts school the college would be doing a lot more hand-holding for mom and for daughter.