Pros and Cons of being a Married Student

makkuri

Hello, my fiance and I just recently got engaged but we have known that we were The One for each other since we met. We just recently moved back to Michigan after being abroad for a few years. We are in our early twenties and are graduating in 2016. We have a few financial concerns of what will happen to us if we get married while we are still students. I hear that we receive more financial aid but this will affect our loans (we both have 40K together). Has anyone else have the same issues? What can we do to make our financial situation better? 

mbross3

My recommendation is for you to do some research on your particular loans. Do either of you receive scholarships from your school? Do you have private or federal loans? These are important questions to answer.

if you have scholarships, you may lose them if you get married. Scholarships can dictate certain requirements for the beneficiary including marital status, gpa, etc. 

Do you have private loans? If you do, depending on the state you live in, you may be agreeing to share your debt. Meaning, you and your FI's debt would be reflected on both of your credit histories--if one of you is carrying significantly more debt, it may be wise to wait on that decision (if anything happens and you get divorced you would end up with half the debt even if you came in with one quarter, etc.)

Finally, if you have federal loans, it probably won't impact your life too much if you get married. You won't assume each other's debt, it won't allow you to take out more loans (unless you have children), it won't mean that you have to take out less money.

You haven't given enough info to offer proper advice for your circumstances, but I hope this helps a little. 

makkuri

Thanks! 

I know he has federal loans and I have a few private loans. Neither of us have scholarships unfortunately Siiiigh. I heard that financial aid offers more to married students? 

mbross3

@Makkuri, it depends on your situation but generally students only receive more financial aid if they have dependents. So if you two (or one of you) had a child, or if one of you were depending on the other for support. Federal loans are based solely off of living expenses and tuition/fees calculated by your university--you cannot be awarded more than this number-which is why people generally also get private loans (generally speaking federal loans will always be a better deal in terms of interest than private loans)

For example:

You school calculates that your tuition and fees will cost $10,000 for the year

They also calculate that the average student requires $20,000 for living expenses

The most you can possibly take out in federal loans= $30,000 

If you have a dependent or other issue (in some circumstances medical issue, etc) then you might be able to petition for more. If you are both students, these will be your limits regardless of whether or not you're married (again unless one is dependent on the other, etc). This is only for federal loans.

You may be entitled to more from your financial aid department through means other than federal loans. I recommend setting up a meeting with your financial aid department and you and your FI going together to ask your questions.

JCbride2015

Yep, I would also sit down with a financial aid counselor.  This is really dependent on your individual financial situation and what types of loans you have.

Although just from a life perspective, not financial, I'm always that person who asks, "What's the rush?"  Fi and I have been together since ages 15/17, and we will be 27/30 when we get married next year.  We wanted to establish ourselves in our careers first.  (Disregard my .02 as you see fit, just wanted to throw it out there).