Students

A Wedding + Grad School = Confused

I am about to begin my senior year of college, and I'll graduate in May of next year. My fiancee and I have been engaged since I graduated from high school, so by the time we get married in October of next year (16 months from now), we will have been engaged for about 4 1/3 years. So, here's my dilemma:

We would LOVE to get married in October. We live in Southern Louisiana and it gets HOT down here! October has some beautiful weather, and our honeymoon will be in Disney World, which also has great weather in October! Trouble is, I want to go to graduate school after I graduate this coming May, which would directly conflict with my wedding and honeymoon, which will last about a week altogether.

Should I delay entering graduate school until the Spring semster following my wedding, or enter that Fall? I'm just looking for some opinions! Thanks guys!

Jackie

Re: A Wedding + Grad School = Confused

  • Just FYI, most grad schools are not like normal universities when they accept students in both spring and fall- usually they only admit students Fall Semester. That may help your decision. 

    I'm not saying that applies to all graduate schools, but if you have one or a few in mind, you may have to investigate. 
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  • I agree with above pp.  Most grad schools only start in the fall.  You need to really look into when they start and what the specific dates are for starts, exams, and breaks.  Good luck though!
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_students_a-wedding-grad-school-confused?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:684Discussion:aad45db3-fb86-401c-b483-0fcb7587b4c0Post:5d556684-8038-4f28-949b-cf62cc08c7a1">Re: A Wedding + Grad School = Confused</a>:
    [QUOTE]I agree with above pp.  Most grad schools only start in the fall.  You need to really look into when they start and what the specific dates are for starts, exams, and breaks.  Good luck though!
    Posted by Annas2013[/QUOTE]

    <div>
    </div><div>I agree completely. My grad school only takes new students during the fall semester.</div>
  • I agree with the above.  Even though you might find a grad school that accepts students in the spring, chances are you wont get any financial aid or a professor to work with. 

    I took a year off, and I think it was the best decision for me.  I was able to really focus on what I wanted from my grad program and I was able to spend more time finding the professors I wanted to work with.
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  • Just like PP said, I am also taking a year off between my undergrad and my master's. I'm planning on taking the advanced one year program which would start in the summer and allow me the graduate the following spring. 

    I'm planning on taking the year off because I feel like I need a bit of a break from school and also want some time to adjust to married life. I wouldn't advise trying to get into a grad program in the spring. Also, you should really check into grad school, especially if you want to get into one the next year. Applications usually start in the fall/winter before you get accepted.
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  • Why not just take a year off between undergrad and grad school?  You could get married, and work/or do whatever to make your grad school application stand out.  My fiance has his master's and I am working on mine and while our fields are very different we both saw having work experience before grad school to give us a leg up in both the acceptance process as well as in our programs.
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  • I didn't add this in my first post.  Taking a year off isn't the end of the world.  I'm going to need to work for a year or 2 (or however long my FI is in PA school), in order to get the business experience I'll need to even have a chance at being accepted in an MBA program.  But I've had that plan since before we got engaged, so nothing's changed except he'll be in school and finish and then I'll get back in school.  
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  • Definitely don't try to get married while you're just starting grad school.  You'll need time to get adjusted, and missing class can be challenging at times (and realistically, between the wedding and honeymoon, you could end up missing two weeks, say, if you had a class on a Thursday night).  Depending on what type of program you're interested in, classes may often be at night (mine were mostly at night Tues Wed or Thurs, though I did have the option of some day classes).  While I went straight from undergrad to grad school, in most cases, I'd recommend getting a year or two of work experience before committing to a grad degree.  I was the youngest in my class, with most having at least a few years of experience.  Grad school is not cheap (funding for masters are rare in the social sciences, I can't speak to hard sciences, and while I was one of the lucky few to get full funding, living expenses may require that you take out loans), so make sure its 100% what you want to do (which you can figure out by working in the field for a year or two).
  • Taking a year off to enjoy your marriage could be a good idea as well. Getting some experience in the work field is also beneficial.
  • You can get married in Oct, but delay the honeymoon until you have a break (in between semesters).  A lot of graduate students do that.  Getting married doesn't have to be a huge time suck.  I got married in graduate school and all turned out well.  My now husband was also in graduate school when we got married.  Everyone survived.
  • One of my friends got married when we were in grad school.  We started our program in June and had a two week break in August.  She got married during that break and she said she would never have done that if she'd known how tough school was.  So, IF you get married during school, I would definitely make sure you line up your wedding with a break.

    However, I would not recommend getting married during grad school, especially not the beginning of it.
  • If it helps... I am currently in grad school and planning my wedding. I began in the spring semester in a Master of Social Work program and my wedding will be in April, in the middle of the semester! My fiance is in a Master of Business program and will also be in the middle of his semester (but really, how much planning does he do anyway?) We are not honeymooning until graduation a year later. Honestly, planning hasn't been too bad on top of graduate school and I am very organized so I can make sure that the weeks leading up to my wedding will not conflict with my schoolwork.
    All I can tell you is STAY ON TOP OF EVERYTHING. Keep lists, don't procrastinate schoolwork, and consider putting off your honeymoon. Wouldn't it be just awesome to take a really relaxing honeymoon after your final graduation anyway? And you can save up extra funds for it in the meantime. :-)
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