Student Accounts

Office of Student Accounts Payment Methods Policies and Procedures Bursar FAQs
 

Office of Student Accounts

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.

The Office of the Student Accounts provides information about how to make payments, waive health insurance, sign up for e-refunds, or learn more about the flexible payment plan offered by our partner Nelnet Campus Commerce (Nelnet).

Payment Methods

Choose a payment option below.

Credit Card/E-check

Online
Log onto my.berklee.edu, click on the Students tab, then “make a payment”. Payment made through this option will be posted to your student account immediately. Credit card payments are subject to a 2.5 percent service charge. There is no charge for EFT/electronic checks.

berklee_cc2_0

Paying by Flywire with Credit or Debit Card
Depending on what country you are paying from, visit flywire.com/school/berklee to pay tuition by credit or debit card. Flywire charges you in your local currency, and tells you the exact amount that will be charged before you make the payment. You can also use Flywire to do a bank transfer (see the below payment option).

Berklee-Flywire-by-Peer-Transfer

Pay With FlyWire

Paying Over the Phone with Credit Card
To make a credit card or e-check payment by phone, call 001-617-747-2165. Payment made by telephone will be posted to your student account the next business day. When making payment by telephone, your payment confirmation number will serve as your receipt. Credit card payments are subject to a 2.5 percent service charge.

Alternative Payment

In the event my.berklee.edu is unavailable or you do not have your login credentials, or you want to make a payment on a student's account, please go to www.berklee.edu/altpay. Payment made via the alternative payment website will be posted to the student's account the next business day. Credit card payments are subject to a 2.5% service charge. There is no charge for EFT/electronic checks.

Mailing Checks

Include your student ID number with the check payment.

Berklee College of Music
1140 Boylston Street

MS-921 OSA
Boston, MA 02215

Bill Pay

Since payment received through “bill pay” will be in the form of a check it will take approximately a week to two weeks before payment is received by the college, depending on location and bank.

  • Pay to: Berklee College of Music
  • Address: 1140 Boylston Street, MS-921 OSA, Boston, MA 02215

Wire Transfers: Domestic and International

Visit flywire.com/school/berklee to pay your tuition bill by bank transfer. Flywire charges you in your local currency, and tells you the exact amount that will be charged before you make the payment.

Berklee-Flywire-by-Peer-Transfer

Pay With Flywire


Cash

We cannot accept cash payments in Valencia.
Third-Party Scholarships

We will be happy to apply advance credit to your account for a scholarship awarded from an outside agency. You must submit a letter to the Office of Student Accounts from the scholarship source, on their letterhead, stating that the scholarship will be mailed directly to Berklee. The letter must also include the amount of your scholarship, the date when payment will be submitted, a request for a statement (if required by the sponsor), and the name and phone number of a contact person. It is essential for the Office of Student Accounts to receive this letter prior to your payment due date in order to avoid any delays.

Tuition Payment Plan

As a courtesy to our degree students, we offer a flexible payment plan for fall and spring semesters through our partner Nelnet Campus Commerce (Nelnet). This plan allows students and families to pay their tuition and fees in smaller installments. The plan requires a $40 enrollment fee and a deposit of one-third of the payment plan balance upon enrollment as well as automatic payments for subsequent installments.

To enroll, please log in to your my.berklee.edu and select the Monthly Tuition Payment Plan link in the Financial Information and Forms menu. First, you will create a Nelnet account. Then, you will select Set up a Payment Plan. If a family member or sponsor is paying on your behalf, you can select Add an Authorized Party, and your payer will receive an invitation to create a Nelnet account.

TermLast Day to Enroll OnlineRequired down payment (immediate)Number of paymentsPayment Due Date
Fall 2022July 2140%31st (August–October)
Fall 2022August 2360%21st (September–October)

For more information regarding payments, please contact the Valencia Campus Office of Student Accounts at studentaccountsvalencia@berklee.edu, or Nelnet customer service at 800-609-8056. Nelnet representatives are available Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. CST.

Policies and Procedures

Students are required to pay tuition and fees at the beginning of each semester, and Berklee has a number of policies regarding balances that have not been fully paid. Read the Collection Policy for more information.

In cases of overpayment, or in which a student needs a refund, see the procedures listed under Student Refund Policy.

Collection Policy
Students will be required to agree during registration to pay tuition and fees at the beginning of every semester enrolled. If full payment has not been made or an approved payment plan not set up the student will be subject to the collection process.

Student Refund Policy

If there is an overpayment on your account, we will process the refund as quickly as possible provided the funds have cleared. Because a final assessment of your account balance cannot be determined until your schedule is finalized at the end of add/drop, we cannot issue any refunds during the first two weeks of classes.

We will begin issuing refunds for a credit balance resulting from overpayment starting only after the third week of classes. It is therefore in your best interest to pay only the exact amount due on your account. In addition, we will only be able to process your refund if the credit balance is the result of actual (not anticipated) funds, and all checks have had 10 days to clear (foreign checks may require additional time). After the third week of classes, we will issue refunds one day per week for those students who have become eligible. You may confirm whether you qualify for a refund check by visiting my.berklee.edu and clicking “View My Statement” under the “Financial Information” section.

Depending on the circumstances of your overpayment, you should be aware of the following details affecting your refund:

We encourage all students to fill out direct deposit information by going to my.berklee.edu and clicking on “Direct Deposit Account” under “Financial Information.” For all students that do not elect the direct deposit option, checks will be mailed to the preferred address on file, whether it is a domestic or international address. Refunds will be issued beginning with the Friday after the third week of class.

  • If the payment causing a credit balance was made by check, the refund will be in the form of a check issued in the student’s name.
  • If the last payment on your student account was made by credit card, your refund will be issued back to the card used if the refund is processed within 90 days of the initial payment. After 90 days, please expect the refund in the form of a check issued in the student’s name.
  • If your statement includes estimated Federal PELL Grants, Federal SEOG, Federal Perkins Loans, or other Federal Direct Loans, and this results in a credit balance on your account, your refund cannot be processed until you formally check-in and sign the required documents in accordance with federal regulations, and the funds represented by these awards are obtained by the college from the federal government.
  • Refunds from Plus Loans will be issued to the initial borrower or student depending on what is stated on the Plus Loan application. At no time after the application is filled out can this be changed. If the Plus Loan application states that any overage should go to the borrower, a check will be issued to the borrower. If the Plus Loan application states any overage should go to the student, a check or direct deposit will be issued to the student. Please note we do not have the ability for Plus Loan borrowers to receive direct deposit refunds at this time.
  • If you are receiving a private loan or financial aid from any state, local, or private agency, any resulting refund will be made only after the college receives the funds. Theses refunds will not be released any earlier then the third week of classes regardless of whether funds are received before this date. It is important to remember that students should plan to arrive on campus with sufficient funds to cover indirect costs such as off-campus housing, books, supplies, etc.

Please realize that the first money received by the college is the money that is applied toward your tuition and fees. Therefore, if you have taken out a loan for living expenses and it arrives at the college before other financial aid funds are received, the loan will be applied to your tuition expenses. Overpayments or refunds only occur after your tuition and fees have been paid. If you are enrolled in TMS and overbudgeted on your TMS account, we may adjust your budget down or end your plan early to prevent overpayment after the departmental add/drop week of the semester ends.

Any student that does not receive a check due to an incorrect or foreign address will be required to wait at least two weeks (could be longer depending on the address state) before another check will be issued. Due to the volume of lost checks we highly recommend that students fill-out the direct deposit form or verify that the preferred address on file in the Registrar’s Office is correct.

Tuition Insurance through Liberty Mutual
As a supplement to the Berklee refund policy, we are pleased to offer an additional tuition insurance program through Liberty Mutual Insurance.

The plan supplements Berklee's refund schedule and provides 100 percent coverage throughout the entire term. If you withdraw from classes due to illness, injury, mental health issues, unforeseen loss of life, or any other eligible reason, the plan will ensure that you receive 100 percent of your insured tuition, room and board, and some fees.

How to Enroll
You can purchase a customizable insurance policy for your chosen insured amount and time period (semester or year) directly on the Liberty Mutual website at a cost of roughly 1 percent of the insured amount. You must purchase a policy prior to the first day of classes.

International and study abroad students are also eligible for tuition insurance and must also purchase a policy prior to the first day of classes.

Learn more at libertymutual.com/tuition-insurance.

Questions?
Email tuitioninsurance@libertymutual.com and receive a response within one business day.

Bursar FAQs

Q: How to I sign up for direct deposit?

Please follow these steps. You must sign up for direct deposit by 5:00 p.m. EDT Tuesday of any given week in order for the refund to go out direct deposit.

When you sign up for direct deposit, make sure you are using the paper/electronic routing number and the correct account number.

Direct Deposit Sign-Up:

Login to my.berklee.edu. If you experience trouble logging in, please contact Student Technology Services.
Once you are in the "Students" section, please select "Direct Deposit Account Information for Student Refunds" under "Financial Information".
Enter your U.S. banking information on this form. Failure to enter your correct routing and checking account number will delay your receipt of your refund. Berklee does not validate whether or not your information is correct.

Please do not change the effective date.
Read the terms and conditions for direct deposit, then select the check box next to "I Agree" and hit submit. You will then receive a confirmation to your Berklee email when you have successfully submitted the form.
Once you have entered your information, you will see your routing number and the last four digits of your account at the top of the "Direct Deposit Account Information for Student Refunds" page going forward. If you need to change your direct deposit information, you must first delete whatever existing information is there.

Q: How do I require a Receipt?

For online payments, you will receive an automated email from our payment processor to whichever email address you provide. For all other payments, the fastest way to get a receipt is through my.berklee.edu (login required).

The "View Statement" option will provide you with a downloadable receipt for the semester you are currently viewing.
You can select a previous term from the drop down menu to view the charges, payments, and print a receipt if needed.

Q: How do I view my statement?

Login with your Berklee account to my.berklee.edu

If you experience trouble logging in, please contact Student Technology Services.
Once you are in the "Students" section, please select "View Account and Make Payments" under "Financial Information."

Once you click, a new window will open. Please make sure you have pop-ups enabled.
Here is an example of a student's statement. You will see charges, payments, financial aid, and any deposits made, as well as the balance due, if any, on the account for a given semester.
For a detailed breakdown of charges, payments, financial aid, and deposits, click "Expand All" as indicated above. This will provide you with the following view:

Q: I need a tax document. How do I go about obtaining it?

The most common requests we receive relate to the United States and Canada tax forms. For all other countries, please provide the necessary form from your government. If you need a receipt for a current or previous semester, you may access this on my.berklee.edu (login required) by selecting "View Statement" under "View Account and Make Payments."
The Office of the Bursar cannot provide you with tax advice. Please consult a tax professional for any questions you may have.

1098-T (United States)
Berklee partners with ECSI for all 1098-T reporting. This tax form shows the amounts charged for tuition and fees as reported by the Office of the Bursar. 1098-T forms will be mailed each year by January 31st in addition to being made available on the ECSI website. Please note if you do not have a domestic address, you will not receive a hard copy form.

ECSI Login Information
Log on to: borrower.ecsi.net/
School Code: D8
Account Number: This will be either your social security number or you will have to relay that you do not have a social security number and need the web generated ID.
PIN/Password: Assigned by ECSI*

*If you have any further questions, please consult the ESCI Informational Page or call the ECSI 1098-T Hotline at 1-866-428-1098.

TL-11A and other Canadian Forms (e.g. OSAP)
Currently, Berklee does not mail out tax forms for Canadian students for either their federal or provincial taxes. Please contact the Office of the Registrar and provide them with your necessary form. They will complete the necessary portions concerning certification of enrollment after which our office will complete the necessary financial information.

Q: Can my refund go towards next semester?

If your refund is due to overpayment, private or institutional scholarships, or private loans, simply fill out the Leave Credit on Account Form (login required) for each semester you wish to have your credit moved. You must do this each time you want to have credit applied to a future semester. This form is only available to students who are logged into berklee.edu.
Please be aware that credit due to federal financial aid (Stafford Loans, Pell/SEOG grants, or Parent PLUS loans) must remain in the same academic year (example: 2015 Fall Semester to 2016 Spring Semester). PLUS loans going back to the parent borrower must be refunded.

Q: Where will my check be mailed?

All paper checks to students will go to the preferred mailing address on file. This may not be the same as your local address, which you verify at the start of each semester. You can see what mailing address we have on file by viewing your statement on my.berklee.edu (login required).
To update your preferred mailing address, please email the Office of the Registrar at registrar@berklee.edu from your Berklee email address.
If the paper check is due to a Parent PLUS loan going back to the parent borrower, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at financialaid@berklee.edu or 617-747-2274 to verify the correct address is on file.

Q: How are refunds sent?

Most of the time, we will either send an electronic funds transfer directly to the student's bank account or mail out a paper check in the student's name. If the most recent payment is a credit card made within the past ninety (90) days and the student is not receiving scholarships or financial aid, the refund will go back to the payer's credit card.
To ensure you get your refund as quickly and easily as possible, we recommend signing up for direct deposit on my.berklee.edu (login required) using your U.S. bank account.
Please note: if the refund is due to a Parent PLUS loan, the parent borrower decides who will receive any refund at the point of application. If the parent borrower elects to receive the refund personally, we will mail a paper check to whichever address was originally provided in the borrower's name.

Q: When are refunds sent?

If there is an overpayment on your account, we will process the refund as quickly as possible, provided the funds have cleared. Because a final assessment of your account balance cannot be determined until your schedule is finalized at the end of add/drop, we cannot issue any refunds during the first two weeks of classes.
We will begin issuing refunds for a credit balance resulting from overpayment starting only after the third week of classes for most students. If you are receiving financial aid and attending part-time, your refund will be issued after the fourth week of classes. It is therefore in your best interest to pay only the exact amount due on your account. In addition, we will only be able to process your refund if the credit balance is the result of actual (not anticipated) funds and all checks have had 10 days to clear. After the third week of classes, we will issue refunds one day per week for those students who have become eligible. You may confirm whether you qualify for a refund check by visiting my.berklee.edu and clicking “View My Statement” under the “Financial Information” section.

Q: Where is my Federal Financial Aid/Private Loan/State Grant?

Please view "My Aid" under the "Financial Aid" section of my.berklee.edu (login required) or contact the Office of Financial Aid to find out the status of your financial aid package. If you see aid on your statement that is marked as "Currently Ineligible," this means it is pending and not being counted toward your account balance. You may be missing documents, or it may simply be processing. It is best to inquire with Financial Aid to find out the exact reason.

Q: Why hasn’t my scholarship been applied to my account?

If it is a Berklee scholarship, please contact the Office of the Bursar in Valencia to verify the reason. If it is a scholarship from an outside organization, please gather any available paperwork detailing the award you are receiving and provide it to the Office of the Bursar in Valencia. Documents may be delivered in person or via email to bursarvalencia@berklee.edu.

Q: Will this have an impact on my credit history?

If you pay the charges through the agency, it will not impact your credit history. However, if the debt is not satisfied, Berklee College of Music reserves the right to report to credit bureaus.

Q: What is the collection process?

The college will, at first, make three attempts to advise you of your unpaid balance and try to work with you to resolve the debt. These letters will be mailed to the student’s current address on file. If all attempts fail, the account will be turned over to one of the college’s outside collection agencies. Once the account is turned over to an outside agency, you will work with them to pay the debt and any additional fees they will charge. Their fees can range from 33 percent to 50 percent of the debt owed.

Q: Why is it important to take care of an unpaid balance?

Unpaid balances can result in not being able to register for future semesters. It will also prevent you from receiving your grades, diploma, and official transcripts. In addition, if a balance remains after the semester is over, you will be subject to the collection process.

Q: What should I do if I do not understand why I have a balance or disagree with the charges?

After checking your account and identifying what is causing the balance you should contact that department to discuss the problem. Extra credit charges (Registrar’s Office), issues with financial aid (Financial Aid Office), Berklee scholarships (Scholarship Office), third party scholarships (organization granting the scholarship), library fines, etc. If you still need assistance to identify the charge, contact the Bursar’s Office.

Q: How will I know if I have a balance on my account?

Students should check their online accounts periodically to ensure there have not been additional charges incurred. This can be done at my.berklee.edu under My Finances. After the initial billing for each semester, an email notification is sent to all students who incurred charges and still have a remaining balance halfway through the semester. A notification of this will also be mailed to the current address on the account.

Q: What charges contribute to the balance on my account?

Besides the registration cost for a degree or diploma program, along with fees associated with registration, additional charges can result from additional courses taken, health insurance coverage, late payment and check-in fees, returned check and wire transfer fees, housing, pending aid/scholarships not received, and penalties from withdrawals.