Fall 2024 New Student Orientation Information

 

mingus the jazz cat with students

Fall orientation will take place Saturday, August 24, through Saturday, August 31, 2024. Undergraduate orientation is required for Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee students entering their first semester. It is designed as a week of welcome before the fall semester begins and focuses on helping students build social and artistic connections.

Orientation Overview

All entering students will be placed in a cohort with about 25 other new Berklee students, and each cohort will meet daily during orientation. These groups will be led by community connectors and orientation leaders, undergraduate student leaders who seek to connect students to Berklee resources as well as facilitate social connections during the transition to Berklee. At orientation, entering students will attend resource fairs, open houses, specialized sessions and workshops, and a variety of social events to help launch their Berklee experience and make sure they're informed and connected with a variety of resources and with their peers. During orientation, students will also participate in a placement audition that will determine their course levels for their first semester, and they will receive their fall semester course schedule by the end of the week. 

Registration for the Cadence Orientation App

The Cadence app is vital to the orientation experience. Cadence will house the full orientation and welcome week schedule, a live feed for you to introduce yourself to other new Berklee students, campus resources, competitions, and more! A link to register will be available soon. Note: all Cadence content goes live on Friday, August 23, 2024, at which point all students will receive a welcome email with instructions on how to access the app!

Pre-Arrival Resources

The New Student and Family Programs team puts together a series of webinars, virtual question and answer sessions, and virtual student socials to make sure entering students feel ready and excited to join us at the end of August. Find out more about these programs below.  

Webinars

Please note: All webinars are in Eastern Time and will be recorded. Webinar recordings will be posted and available on our Recorded Webinars page within three business days of the webinar date.

Webinar Info Coming Soon

Virtual Drop-In Q&A Sessions

We will be hosting a series of virtual question-and-answer sessions to make sure you feel fully confident and connected to us at Berklee. Drop in any time during the two hour sessions and we will be ready to support you. Some of these sessions are hosted only by our New Student and Family Programs team, while others will have campus partners available to meet one-on-one in Zoom breakout rooms. These partners include Health and Wellness, Housing and Residential Education, International Student Services, Accessibility Resources for Students, One Stop Student Services, and Student Success Advising. All session times are listed in Eastern Time.

Virtual Drop-In Q&A Info Coming Soon

Virtual Student Socials

We host virtual student socials in July leading up to orientation! Join us on Zoom to meet other new students entering Berklee in August, as well as current upper-semester student leaders at Berklee who can answer any questions you may have. These socials are open to entering students at both the College and Conservatory.

Social Info Coming Soon

My First Berklee Project

The My First Berklee Project is your first creative endeavor as a newly enrolled Berklee student. This is an optional collaborative performance project launched within your incoming class. As a group, you will be creating art to be shared with the wider Berklee community. This can be dance, music, theater, and everything in between. Projects are completed virtually, before arrival to Berklee, and this opportunity is available for both incoming College and Conservatory students. 

My First Berklee Project Info Coming Soon

Pre-Arrival Onboarding Tasks

New students must check the "Next Steps" section of the application portal and clear any restrictions listed on their account. Next steps include important tasks such as paying the tuition bill, submitting required immunization paperwork, and submitting a final high school transcript. Students will receive login information in June to set up their Berklee email/OnePass account, which is required to complete tasks in the next steps for the enrollment checklist. In addition, students need their OnePass to access their Berklee email account, which is where they will receive all official school communications and access important student-facing resources found on the school’s internal sites (berklee.edu, bostonconservatory.berklee.edu, college.berklee.edu).

Connecting

Follow the Center for Campus Life on Instagram to learn about upcoming events and activities. Students can reach out to us with questions at campuslife@berklee.edu, and families are welcome to reach out to families@berklee.edu. We look forward to connecting with you!