Policies and Procedures
There are many OFA policies that can impact your financial aid awards. Please review the following policies carefully to ensure that you understand how your enrollment status, your academic progress, and other factors may impact your aid at Berklee.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in order to receive scholarships, grants, loans, and to participate in student government. SAP is made up of three factors:
- Minimum GPA Requirements — to receive federal aid, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Berklee scholarship students must maintain a GPA of 2.5.
- Calculation of Completion Rate — you must earn a minimum amount of credits based on your program and the number of semesters you have completed at Berklee (see chart below):
- Total credits attempted— the credits you take towards completing your program of study cannot exceed 150% of the published length of the program.
- To be eligible for aid in a diploma program of 96 credits, you must be able to complete the program attempting no more than 144 credits.
- To be eligible for aid in a degree program of 120 credits, you must be able to complete the program attempting no more than 180 credits.
- To be eligible for aid in a degree program of 150 credits, you must be able to complete the program attempting no more than 225 credits.
| Satisfactory Academic Progress * | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semesters Attended ** | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Diploma Program | 6 | 12 | 21 | 28 | 36 | 41 | 52 | 60 | 68 | 76 | 86 | 96 | 106 | 116 | 120 |
| Degree Program | 6 | 13 | 21 | 30 | 40 | 51 | 62 | 73 | 84 | 96 | 108 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
| Music Education Program | 6 | 13 | 21 | 30 | 40 | 51 | 62 | 73 | 85 | 97 | 110 | 123 | 133 | 143 | 153 |
* These numbers represent the minimum amount of credits that a student must complete for their semester level at Berklee.
** Semesters attended equals the total amount of semesters in which you enrolled at Berklee, including from which you withdrew after the add/drop period and semesters attended for part-time credit.
Continuing student awards are considered pending until all semester grades are received for the prior semester. The Office of Financial Aid will contact all students who are not maintaining satisfactory academic progress.
Part-Time Enrollment
Financial Aid is available to students who wish to attend Berklee part-time. The amount of aid for which you are eligible will be affected by the amount of credits you choose to take. All part-time students must continue to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress to be considered for financial aid funding. For specific information on how your aid package may be affected by your enrollment status, please contact your financial aid counselor.
The Federal Pell Grant is available to qualifying FAFSA filers who wish to enroll for fewer than twelve credits. The Federal Pell Grant will be prorated based on your credit load.
Students must be enrolled in six or more credits to receive consideration for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work Study, Federal Stafford Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans. Students may borrow from the federal loan programs for more than eight semesters, however there are aggregate limits on all federal loans. One semester loan period Stafford Loan amounts will vary based on registered credits and enrollment status. Students enrolled for fewer than six credits are likely to enter their grace period and/or begin loan repayment.
All students must be enrolled in twelve or more credits to receive consideration for the Massachusetts Gilbert Grant and other various state loans and scholarship funds unless otherwise notified.
Most private loan lenders require that students enroll in six or more credits to receive funds. Students should check with their lender to clarify the company's specific policy regarding enrollment.
The guidelines for prorating Berklee grants and/or scholarships for qualified upper semester students* (degree and diploma) are as follows:
Semesterly Grant/Scholarship Amount divided by 13,
Multiplied by the number of part-time credits for the semester,
Equals Grant/Scholarship Amount for the semester
Example: John receives $5,000 Berklee Grant for the semester and plans to enroll in 6 credits for the fall.
$5,000 X 6 = 2,307 rounded up to the nearest $100 equals $2,400
13
John would receive $2,400 in Berklee Grant for the fall semester based on 6 credits.
The part-time prorating policy applies to both degree and diploma students.
* Students must complete four full-time semesters at Berklee before they are eligible to receive institutional funds on a per-credit, prorated basis. If you are unsure of your eligibility to receive these funds for attending part-time, you should check with your financial aid counselor for more information.
Attending Berklee part-time requires the approval of the Counseling and Advising Center. Not all students are eligible to enroll for fewer than twelve credits. Failure to seek the approval of the Counseling and Advising Center will result in you being billed for full-time enrollment no matter your credit load.
Return of Funds (Your Right to Cancel)
Sometimes it becomes necessary to return all or part of a loan to the lender. Perhaps you borrowed more than you need, the student has decided to withdraw from classes, or you found a better loan somewhere else. Whatever the reason, you have the right to cancel your loan and return funds to your lender.
You should be aware that in recent years, lenders have dramatically tightened the rules regarding returning funds. Most lenders have either a 30-day or 60-day deadline for sending either all or part of a loan back. Once you are out of this window, the parent or student may be responsible for loan fees, several payments, and any interest that has accrued. We strongly advise you to check with your lender before signing your loan agreement to clarify their return of funds policy.
Summer Aid
Financial aid is available for students who wish to take classes during the summer semester. Your summer aid package will be determined based on your FAFSA and your enrollment status. The types of awards that are available are the Federal Pell Grant, need-based Berklee Grants, and Federal Direct Stafford Loans.
- Students enrolling full-time for summer who received need-based Berklee grants during the previous semester may use their awards regardless of semester level.
- Students enrolling part-time must have completed four (4) full-time semesters prior to summer 2010 in order to receive need-based Berklee grants on a per-credit, prorated basis.
- Students must be enrolled in at least six credits to receive Federal Stafford Loans.
- Pell grants are available for full and part-time students who are determined eligible through the FAFSA.