I attended Berklee School of Music and graduated with a BM in music.
Two months after graduation, I look back on my experience at Berklee and understand that the school has afforded me incredible opportunities. I also understand that you only get out of this school what you put into it. While I loved my experience there, I wish more emphasis in the core curriculum had been put into being an active working person in the Music Industry as opposed to theory and harmony.
While I feel that music theory and application is absolutely necessary for the working musician to understand how to operate as a musician, within the core curriculum was missing information on how to book gigs, how to market and promote yourself, and how to handle your finances. Those classes do exist, however they also are somewhat hidden. I simply wish that there had been more emphasis on taking them as part of the whole experience. If you research heavily the opportunities exist and are available but are not obvious.
I will say that the school is excellent at its resources for mental health, support, and transitioning students from High School to College. An actual statistic from two years ago at Berklee is that out of all the students that fail a class in their first semester, only 10 percent graduate. The school addressed this with a successful tutoring program and an innovative Peer Advisor Program.
Overall I have a love for my alma mater, and feel it prepared me in some ways to be out in the world, but in others, it did not. I encourage every incoming student to vigorously research the curriculum that they hope to follow and to seek out opportunities not only to learn theory and harmony, but also put a strong emphasis on the business aspect of music.