<p>This seems like someone is twisting the concept of normal freshman attrition into an evil policy. My D explained that some of her friends didn’t continue after their first semester, not because Berklee ‘kicked them out,’ but because they were in over their head, or preferred to get high over going to class, or couldn’t afford the next semester. She knows of no one that is intent on learning and going to class that was ‘cut’ for any reason, other than they couldn’t pay the bill. There is at least one friend who had an amazing scholarship, but because he didn’t go to class consistently and therefore had terrible grades, he didn’t keep the scholarship and ‘took some time off’ to re-assess. He’s still not back, unfortunately, because without the huge scholarship he cannot afford to attend.</p>
<p>Schools call this attrition, and they build it into their accept rates. They want all students to continue, and Berklee is very supportive of any kids improving themselves and trying to learn, no matter their starting point in music. If you look at many colleges websites, they advertise a freshman retention rate, and Berklee’s dealing with this is no different than a non-music college.</p>