My son went to Berklee for 2 years, transferring there from the jazz program at Ithaca College. His high school instrumental teacher called Berklee "a guitar school" but in fact it has good programs in many genres, many instruments. It didn't suit my son enough to stay to graduate, so he left. Many kids go there for a semester or two, never even planning to stay, going for example after graduating from some other college. Others go, stay and prosper in their music, using the connections and Berklee background to open many doors.

One of the Dixie Chicks went to Berklee. Gillian Welch went there. Matt Glaser (of the Wayfaring Strangers band mentioned above) is the head of the strings program there. There seemed to be a lot of rock, jazz and pop, but also world music and everything else. I've run into many talented musicians who have a Berklee background (including my son).

If your son is motivated to go there, Boston is a wonderful place to go to school. You should go see the place. The dorm facilities aren't great, but most kids live off-campus after the first semester or so. The music facilities are impressive, especially for sound engineering and other technical areas of music production.

Depending on what kind of music your son has a passion for, in case he's interested in bluegrass or country, there's a supposedly wonderful degree program (only one of it's kind, I think) at Eastern Tennessee State University that you might also want to look into:

http://cass.etsu.edu/bluegrass/

Good luck! It's an exciting time for you.