<p>My son has recently been accepted to both schools with scholarships from each. There is an old thread on this website but it is over 2 years old. I wanted to start a new thread and hopefully connect with others in the same position, parents of students at each school, and students who attend. This is really a tough decision and am looking for insight from those who have real information on either school and experiences at both. I am thrilled that my son has this decision to make!</p>
<p>Be sure to post your son’s acceptances on the acceptances thread pinned to the top of this forum, along with his instrument or major. Congratulations on his dilemma!</p>
<p>Congrats to your S, especially on the scholarship from Berklee! </p>
<p>I am probably on that old thread. My S is a senior now at Belmont. He was deferred to spring at Berklee and we did not want to wait, plus he got good merit aid at Belmont and nothing from Berklee. Berklee was his original “dream school.” I also have a lot of family in Boston so am very familiar with the city.</p>
<p>You didn’t say what your S’s major is. My S went in to Belmont as a commercial guitar/composition and arranging major. He did not like the commercial guitar program and found that he really loved the classical guitar (which he never played until he got to Belmont). So he switched to composition and has been very happy; although Belmont does not have a strong reputation for composition it is a good program for aspiring film composers. We are amazed at his technical ability now on guitar, his knowledge of theory and of music history, and of his composition skills and range. He has obtained paid work as an arranger for a singer-songwriter who is recording his first album, has scored an independent film, had his own rock band for a while that was getting some decent attention, and easily found a part time job near campus and a decent place to live that he can afford on a part-time job. His two roommates have gotten tons of gigs (guitarist and drummer) and are confident they can make a living after they graduate. I think he has gotten a good education at Belmont. The gen ed requirements are very different from Berklee’s so you need to look at those too. </p>
<p>The setting of the two schools are very different. Nashville is awesome, and a decent college town but nothing like Boston which is crawling with college kids. Belmont is away from downtown Nashville but is in a pretty cool neighborhood. You have to drive everywhere in Nashville but you have a great subway system in Boston. I think there are tons more performing opportunities in Nashville. Belmont is literally next to Music Row and lots of students get great internships with the publishers there. Belmont operates its own studio and owns two others so it is easy to get access to pro-level recording. Nashville is way less expensive than Boston in the years when you want to live off campus. The dorms at Belmont are palatial and it is opening a fabulous new dining hall next fall. I know Berklee just oepned a new dorm too but I haven’t seen it.</p>
<p>If you want to form a band right away, that is hard to do at Belmont because you can’t get practice rooms on campus and you can’t play amplified instruments in the dorm rooms. If you are a vocalist that is not a problem. </p>
<p>Let me know what your S’s major is and I might have more info. Or if you want to know more about Boston vs. Nashville, I can give you a lot more color on that. We live in PA and love Nashville, it is a modern city but still has the southern charm and hospitality that we like. But we love Boston too. Wish Nashville was a bit closer to us. </p>
<p>Thank you so much honestmom for all the info and insight into Belmont! It is much appreciated. My son applied to Belmont as Commercial Guitar Major with emphasis on Music Business and wants to do Professional Music Major at Berklee.</p>
<p>SpiritManager…yes quite a good dilemma to have!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations @rockinmomab! I see your S has decided on Berklee! </p>
<p>Congratulations!!! Boston is an exciting town for student musicians. There is so much going on and so many other students to collaborate with. Plus it is a very international community with people coming from all over the world to attend Berklee. My son goes down the street from Berklee but he socializes and knows many Berklee musicians. A few important things worth re-stating about Berklee. Berklee is an amazing school with amazing resources but it is also the sort of place you can coast through. WHAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR TIME AT BERKLEE is WHAT YOU GET OUT. So it is important to remind your son that he is going to have to take the initiative and not wait around for opportunity to come knocking on his door. The best advice is always say “YES” and if you are interested or want to get involved or take a class or be in a certain ensemble then ASK. Four years can go awfully quickly for somebody getting a BFA. Also remind your son that there will be other musicians who are better or more talented or more experienced than him…but that does not matter. Because if he works hard and improves he can and will develop his own style and be a musician he is proud of.</p>
<p>Thanks StacJip! Does your son go to Boston Conservatory? My son is very excited to be around all of those other musicians who are better than him! That is how he will grow and be the best he can be too! Also, he knows the competitive environment and that is the main reason he chose Berklee over other schools. He wants to be with the best and be challenged. I think it is true of anything you do…if you want something, you have to go for it!!! No one is going to hand you anything. Where are you from? My mind is already thinking about the logistics of getting all his stuff to Boston :)</p>
<p>Congrats, @rockinmomab and S. My D graduated from Berklee last year in Contemporary Writing and Production and is just starting out in Los Angeles. The Alumni network is amazing … Good luck to your S.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comment SnowflakeVT! Good to hear about your sons success!!! Calms my nerves a bit! :)</p>
<p>My son goes to NEC down the street. He is a Jazz musician so he plays with a wide variety of people. I live in the Boston area so I can help you sort out the logistics. There are so many college students in this area that your son will not be alone. Such an exciting time for you and your son.</p>
<p>My D was accepted into Berklee with a scholarship as well. She will be majoring in Songwriting. The insight on Boston and Berklee is helping to calm my nerves, as Boston is 11 hours away from home. Thanks so much for the information! </p>
<p>Congrats @rockinmomab ! I was just wondering if (after scholarships) the costs between Berklee and Belmont were similar? It seems like you decided very quickly without much response from this thread and I was wondering what role (if any) $ played in your decision. </p>
<p>$$ played no role in deciding. it was totally my son’s choice. No, even after scholarship prices of two school are still pretty far apart since he was offered $$ at both. My son said if he didn’t go to Betklee he would be afraid he’d regret it the rest of his life. So at that point it seemed the right choice for him was Berklee. </p>
I have had TONS of experience with guitar players at Berklee… Here is some advice if they ever want to have performance be a big part of what they do going forward, have them take any additional voice courses they can. Even if the guitarist can’t sing a note, if they can hum harmonies, it will be worth it. Tell them to be on time and be ready. Guitarists think picks, capos, new strings can just fall into their hands out of thin air when they need them. Don’t have them bring their GIANT amp to schools. News flash, even if you get a good gig with a band with a van, there isn’t a lot of room to cart equipment around Boston or around the state for gigs. Most likely, you will be hauling it on the subway. Don’t play so freakin loud that the audience can’t hear the vocalist. If the sound guy tells you to turn down, turn down. Don’t be arrogant… and PLEASE PLEASE learn about tone! At Berklee during class there are Fender amps. If you don’t have the same amp, work with it on your own.
And my daughter chose Berklee. We went to see Belmont. I fell in love with it. She didn’t end up applying because she got into Berklee. She wanted to see everyone walking around campus with an instrument, which is just about what she got at Berklee.
I don’t know if anyone else would find this helpful or not, but we have been putting together lists for any of the schools we are considering and this is our comparison for Belmont and Berklee so far:
(* indicates a preference by either me or my D, if there is no star, we don’t agree or aren’t sure or don’t care! Obviously, our preference may not be yours!)
Belmont / Berklee
Traditional campus / City campus
Likely need a car (Freshman allowed) / Car not needed - great public trans *
Academic requirements / No academic requirements
(24 - 29 ACT range)
More Gen Ed / Less Gen Ed*
On campus housing * / On campus housing not guaranteed
Warmer weather * / Colder weather
Athletic opportunities / No athletics *
(this is a big deal for my D - she does not like the big focus on sports at colleges)
Christian / No religious affiliation
$43K ($30K avg net price) * / $58K ($41K avg net price)
around 7K students (how many music?) / less than 5K students (but all music students)
13:1 student to faculty ratio / 12:1 student to faculty ratio
Job placement rate?
(given a number for Curb, but can’t find it. I believe it was quite good, but wouldn’t
apply to the music school if going that route) Can’t find any info for Berklee.
Distance / accessibility (will vary for everyone, but is on our list for comparison)
Biggest concern so far:
Practice rooms (lack of) at Belmont / Getting in (36% admission rate) and housing at Berklee
Opinion / Other:
Love the opportunities in Nashville! / Loved Boston in general - a great city!
If I have any obvious misinformation here or other comparisons I should have listed that you can think of, feel free to chime in! If you can fill in any of my blanks, that would be great, too! I am completely overwhelmed in this search, but writing it all down / typing it out, did help a bit! Despite having fewer *'s, my D really loved Berklee and this would still be a hard choice if she were accepted.
PS: When I typed this, I thought is was going to be nice and neat and in columns, but it didn’t come out that way in the actual post. I fixed it the best I could! Sorry!
Belmont is opening a new building this fall that will have additional practice rooms. It is pretty generous with financial aid. (My S got a merit scholarship with a 3.4 GPA and we got a good sized grant the first year when I was unemployed) Dorms are palatial. Off campus housing is plentiful and cheap, especially compared to Boston where you have a general shortage of rental housing and about 150,000 students vying for it every year.
Belmont is putting massive resources into the Curb College and its general business program. I think it is aiming to be #1 in that area. Overall Belmont is aiming to improve its national rankings and overall reputation too, its new Vision 2020 says it wants to become known as “the university of Nashville.” I have been very impressed with its improvements over the 4 years my son has attended. Belmont also has unparalleled recording facilities right on campus (Ocean Way studios) and owns the old RCA Studio B which is nearby on Music Row. My son has had opportunities to record in both studios and raved about them.
Great to know about the additional practice rooms! Your posts (on multiple threads) have been very helpful to us @honestmom!
@dbandmom Thanks, glad to help. It is a tough choice for everyone between these two schools. My son REALLY wanted to go to Berklee, but he has said over and over that he is very happy at Belmont and has fallen in love with Nashville. What is your student’s instrument/prospective major?
@honestmom My D is a vocalist that also plays guitar and piano. She attended Berklee’s Songwriting Workshop last summer and that is the direction she is leaning. However, she is fairly new to songwriting, so it may be kind of a risky choice. She has also considered music ed, music therapy, music business with a performance minor, and some others. We have a binder full of printouts of the degree requirements from all the programs at all the schools we are looking at and she is (supposed to be) going over them very carefully.
Berklee is her dream right now. I really think this has to do with the fact that she attended the workshop there. She was very drawn to the all music, all the time atmosphere. I wish Belmont had a summer program. I would have her signed up already! I, personally, prefer Belmont. I would also like to get to Miami for a visit, as I think their program could also be a front runner. (but that is off-topic for this thread!)