Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Berklee College of Music

Boston, MA · 10 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff

−$501,950 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

At these assumptions, the estimated earnings premium does not recover the modeled economic investment within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−133%Modeled 10-year ROI
$32,591Observed earnings · year 5
Economic ROI includes direct price and earnings forgone during study · $45,000 comparison earnings · values held flat · see the formula
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$501,950at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$377,8600
2
4
6
8
−$501,95010
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$52,040
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$52,040
Sticker price
Average net price$49,465
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$72,700
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
New England Commission on Higher Education
Main award level
Bachelor’s degrees
Campus setting
City
Admissions
Selective admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$49,465Average net price / year
$72,700Cost of attendance
$25,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$265/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$32,591Median earnings · year 5 after completion
67.3%Completion rate
43.5%Admission rate
7,468Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$42,734
$30–48k$37,987
$48–75k$47,799
$75–110k$46,801
$110k+$54,676
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$32,591
Year 6$26,462
Year 10$33,647
Full-time retention
88.6%
Part-time retention
60.0%
Completion within 200% of normal time
69.2%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

26thEarnings percentile
63thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$38,617Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$26,375Median federal debt across categories that report debt
38%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$20,342Year 1
$41,028Year 4
$32,591Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management · Bachelor's Degree$59,7032Music · Master's Degree$55,4673Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other · Bachelor's Degree$48,0694Computer Software and Media Applications · Bachelor's Degree$40,1865Music · Bachelor's Degree$38,6176Visual and Performing Arts, Other · Bachelor's Degree$37,1177Dance · Bachelor's Degree$35,7028Music · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$34,014

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in MA

Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Boston, MA

The New England Conservatory of Music

Annual net price
$46,754
Observed earnings · year 5
$37,083
Modeled 10-year ROI
-122%
Open college profile →
Cambridge, MA

Longy School of Music of Bard College

Annual net price
$38,530
Observed earnings · year 5
$37,767
Modeled 10-year ROI
-122%
Open college profile →
Beverly, MA

Montserrat College of Art

Annual net price
$33,216
Observed earnings · year 5
$34,625
Modeled 10-year ROI
-133%
Open college profile →
Franklin, MA

Dean College

Annual net price
$30,684
Observed earnings · year 5
$36,113
Modeled 10-year ROI
-129%
Open college profile →
ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Arts, Entertainment, and Media ManagementBachelor's Degree$59,703$26,375Not reported
MusicMaster's Degree$55,467Not available0
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, OtherBachelor's Degree$48,069$26,000Not reported
Computer Software and Media ApplicationsBachelor's Degree$40,186$27,000Not reported
MusicBachelor's Degree$38,617$24,97919
Visual and Performing Arts, OtherBachelor's Degree$37,117$27,000Not reported
DanceBachelor's Degree$35,702$27,000Not reported
MusicUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$34,014Not available652
Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's DegreeNot available$27,000Not reported
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic ProfessionsBachelor's DegreeNot available$23,750Not reported

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.