Accepted Students: Next Steps for Enrollment

Talk to a member of our health and wellness team to discuss the mandatory immunizations and school-sponsored health insurance program. Remember that Berklee will require all students returning to our Boston campus this fall to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the fall 2021 semester. 

Admissions enrollment officers will be available to answer your questions and talk about what needs to happen before orientation begins. Space is limited for these sessions, so you must register to attend one of the scheduled meetings by using the registration links below. 

The Office of the Registrar assists students throughout their academic career, providing registration and scheduling guidance and resources.

The Office of Student Accounts is responsible for all financial matters pertaining to students’ accounts, including the billing and collection of tuition, fees, and overpayment refunds.

All entering and transfer students must submit a completed Berklee Entering Student Immunization Form to Magnus Health, Berklee’s provider for collecting, managing, and tracking immunization information. You should receive an email from Magnus Health to the email address that is connected to your application with information on how to access your Magnus Health account. This step in your acceptance process cannot be completed until Magnus Health emails you with your login credentials. Please be aware that it may take up to a week from your admittance to the institution for your Magnus Health account to be active.

If you submit your vaccination record after August 1 for residential students and August 15 for commuter students, you may not be able to access campus at the start of the semester and are at risk of being unable to enroll for the fall semester or losing your on-campus housing.

We have moved this deadline earlier because you will be moving into a communal living environment before the semester begins. Ensuring everyone is fully vaccinated is the most effective way to keep our community safe. This new deadline will give us time to work with you and your family to come up with a plan to ensure that you are vaccinated before you arrive.

If you have concerns about meeting the deadlines (e.g., if you will only have one dose of a two-dose vaccine by August), please email covidhealthadministrator@berklee.edu.

International students: If you have signed up for the Tufts Medical Center vaccination clinic in August for Berklee students, you do not need to take any action at this time.

Read More about the COVID-19 vaccination requirement

If you have any questions, please email Health and Wellness at healthandwellness@berklee.edu.

The state of Massachusetts requires that students be enrolled in a health insurance plan that offers comprehensive coverage. All coverage must be in effect while you are enrolled at Berklee College of Music, even while studying abroad, and coverage must be compliant with state and federal regulations under the Affordable Care Act. We also recommend that your insurance plan provides coverage anywhere in the United States and abroad, and that it includes provisions for medical evacuation and repatriation of remains.

All students are automatically enrolled in and charged for Berklee’s Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).

Students may waive (decline) participation in the Berklee SHIP if they can demonstrate coverage with a comparable insurance plan that is consistent with existing state and federal requirements for students enrolled in colleges and universities in Massachusetts. The insurance coverage requirements for waiving the SHIP are not internal policies set by Berklee.  

The waiver is completed online on the Gallagher Student Health website (gallagherstudent.com/berklee). You must complete an online waiver for each new academic year during which you do not want the institution's plan. Verbal waiver requests, letters, and copies of insurance cards will not be accepted. Should your waiver be denied, information on how to appeal a waiver denial will be available directly to students in the denial email. All decisions made by Gallagher Student Health are final. Berklee engages the professional services of Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk to communicate to each eligible student how to request a waiver; notify students of the dates by which waiver requests may be made; and review whether or not waiver requests are compliant with Massachusetts regulations.

For waiver information, FAQs, plan details, coverage and costs, please contact:

• Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk Customer Service
• 800-391-8057
• gallagherstudent.com/berklee

For billing questions, contact:

• The Office of Student Accounts 
• 617-747-2165
• studentaccounts@berklee.edu

For questions about how to use SHIP or to locate your SHIP card, contact:

• Berklee Health and Wellness
• 617-747-6575
• healthandwellness@berklee.edu

More information can be found on our health and wellness website.

As a new Berklee student, you are required to take the online Entering Student Proficiency Assessment (ESPA), which places you in core ear training, harmony, and arranging courses with other students who have similar experience levels.

The ESPA has six total parts and is a critical component in developing your first-semester schedule. Please complete the ESPA as soon as possible. The assessment is specifically used for placement into core classes; you cannot pass or fail it, and no grade will be assigned to it.   

All students must attempt parts one–three: 

• Ear Training 
• Harmony 1
• Writing Skills

If you wish to qualify for additional advanced placement, you should also attempt to complete parts four–six: 

• ​Harmony 2
• Arranging 1
• Harmony 3

You do not have to complete all of the sections at one time, but once you begin a section you will have a limited time to complete it. You must have your OnePass set up and use your Berklee.edu email address to access the exam.

Complete the ESPA

We recommend that you have a quiet place and a secure internet connection before starting the exam. If you have any technical issues, the Technology Service Desk is available to help you from Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET at 2238@berklee.edu or 617-747-2238. 

To request testing accommodations based on a disability, please contact Accessibility Resources for Students at accessibilityresources@berklee.edu or 617-747-2387 from Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.

This placement exam offers you the opportunity to get credit for MTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology, a required course for all degree and diploma students, provided that you demonstrate strong knowledge of the subject matter. 

All entering students are required to take this placement exam, so that we can place you in the appropriate class. If you successfully test out of MTEC-111, you will earn credit by exam (CBX) and may be placed in a second-level music technology course, such as MTEC-213 Producing Music with Ableton Live or MTEC-214 Producing Music with Logic Pro.

The deadline to take this exam was July 21. If you have not yet taken this exam, please take it as soon as possible. 

Learn More and Take the Exam (login required)

If you have any questions regarding the exam, please email the Electronic Production and Design Department coordinator at elpd@berklee.edu.

All incoming undergraduate students are required to take Berklee's first-semester Liberal Arts Engaging Seminar (LENS). This will help you navigate your Berklee education, build your foundation as a student and an artist, and foster your creative community. There are four LENS categories available to you. While we cannot guarantee that you will be placed in your first choice, we invite you to rank your preferences.

Choose LENS Preferences

Please visit the Student ID Photo Submission page (login required) to submit your photo for your Berklee ID electronically. The page includes rules that must be followed for the photo to be accepted. Note that you must be logged in to my.berklee.edu to be able to access this page.

Any student who is currently attending or has attended postsecondary school (college or university) within the last five years must submit this form prior to the beginning of orientation.

All entering undergraduate students must submit proof of high school/secondary school graduation prior to matriculation, even if transferring into Berklee from another college. 
Submit a copy of either your official high school/secondary school diploma or final transcript that includes a graduation date and an official signature and seal. Students who did not submit proof of secondary school completion as part of their application must submit a general report of their credential evaluation through a certified credential evaluation service. 

Information on how to submit proof of graduation is available on the Submit Proof of Graduation/Transcripts page. 

Students seeking transfer credit must submit their most recent college transcript to update their transfer credit records. Some documents may already have been submitted during the application process. Students who are seeking transfer credit via CLEP or AP should submit their official score report or reports to the Office of Admissions. 

Information on how to submit an official transcript to the Office of Admissions is available on the Transcript and Other Support Materials page.

Admitted students who submitted college transcripts, official AP credit, or CLEP scores through the admissions process will be able to view their transfer credit within my.berklee.edu under the Student Services section.

New Student Orientation will start on August 30, 2021. Entering students will move in on either Saturday, August 28 or Sunday, August 29. Your exact date and time will be sent by the Housing Department on July 27. When you arrive to campus, you'll have opportunities to meet other new Berklee students and get settled in Boston.

The New Student and Family Programs team will have a series of events and activities, and all new students will be placed in a cohort with about 15–20 other new Berklee students, and you'll meet daily during orientation. 

All students must attend and register for orientation.

Register for Orientation

Orientation details can be found on the orientation website. Please contact the Office of New Student and Family Programs at nsfp@berklee.edu if you have any questions. 

OnePass allows you to have one set of login credentials for many of Berklee’s technology services. To view and set up your OnePass ID, go to the "Next Steps" page in the applicant portal. Once you activate your Berklee OnePass, you’ll have access to: 

• your Berklee.edu email account, which you should check regularly leading up to the start of the semester;
• my.berklee.edu, where you will go to pay your tuition bill, view your tuition statement, and transfer credit (if applicable); and
• internal web pages within Berklee.edu and college.berklee.edu that require a login to view the content.

Note: After you are accepted to Berklee and pay your tuition deposit, it can take up to a week for your OnePass information to be added to the applicant portal. 

All students from outside the United States who plan to attend Berklee must complete an I-20 form in order to apply for an F-1 student visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy. Review the I-20/F-1 Visa Information page for step-by-step instructions on how to complete your I-20. 

If you have been accepted to the First Year Abroad program on our campus in Valencia, Spain, please refer to the Accepted Undergraduate Students page on the Berklee Valencia site for the information you will need to matriculate.

All new students who are non-native English speakers are required to complete an online ESL placement test, regardless of their TOEFL/IELTS score, prior to matriculating at Berklee. The results of the exam will be used to place you in the appropriate ESL level. More information has been sent to your email address on how to complete your ESL exam. 

For questions about this assessment, contact your enrollment officer at eo@berklee.edu or 617-747-2221.

If you cannot hear the audio sample or need support for any other technical issues, please email 2238@berklee.edu or call 617-747-2238.

Learn about laptop and technology requirements for entering students. This includes an Apple MacBook Pro laptop, which you will need to purchase on your own, and a Core Software Package, which is automatically added to your tuition bill. We urge students to make purchases well in advance of check-in as shipping is delayed in many parts of the world. 

Review the technology requirements for entering students.

All students are required to submit this electronic agreement acknowledging their financial obligations before they will be allowed to check in for the semester. You can find the link to the SAFO form in the Check-In section of my.berklee.edu. Scroll to the bottom of the page, check off the box to indicate that you have read and agreed with the three disclosures, then click "Submit."

View your financial aid award by visiting the financial aid portal. Manage your financial aid by logging in to my.berklee.edu to check your award status. 

Tuition bills are due by August 2. You will not be able to check in if you have an outstanding balance. Log in to my.berklee.edu to check your balance, pay your bill, and secure your spot. 

If you have not already done so, begin your housing application as soon as possible by going to your applicant portal. As a reminder, the on-campus housing deadline was May 5. Berklee can only guarantee on-campus housing for those who met the deadline. 



All students who have been confirmed for housing for the fall semester will move in on Saturday, August 28, 2021, during their assigned time block, which they will receive from the Housing and Residential Education Department in late July to their berklee.edu email address.

Continue to check the Housing and Residential Education page as more detailed information becomes available, and review housing move-in information.