Master's degree while wedding

larrygaga · April 2014

How much do you guys think getting married in the middle of my program would change my financial aid? Trying to figure out the timing of my master's and getting married. I haven't heard much back from the schools I'm looking into yet.

larrygaga · April 2014

I think he makes a lot of money, but I grew up half starved we were so poor. I think my view is skewed on what a lot of money is. I don't have a job right now, and when I do I won't make hardly any money. (This is why I'm getting my master's)

hmmmm

JennyColada · April 2014

Don't they have programs online that you can estimate tax stuff? Try that.

wandajune6 · April 2014

My memory could be fuzzy but when I applied for financial aid for grad school, the FAFSA based everything off of my taxes. If you file separately, I wouldn't think that his income would impact you.

larrygaga · April 2014

Can you file separately than your spouse?

manateehugger · April 2014

It depends on what sort of financial aid you're talking about.

For merit-based aid, it shouldn't change anything (this will be program dependent) For need-based/FASFA, you'll become an independent student as well as a dual income household after marriage, so your FI's income will be added to whatever your income is when filling out the FASFA. That could be good if you're younger than 24 (still a dependent student) and your parents make more than your FI, or it could be bad if your FI makes more than your parents combined.

https://www.aidcalc.com/EFC.aspx - use this thing to calculate the expected contribution FASFA will expect from your parents vs. your FI.

Also, filing taxes separately from your spouse has no bearing on FASFA.

Edited for clarity.

larrygaga · April 2014

Thanks! I'll do some figuring. He makes what is considered upper-middle class, but when you add a freeloader onto his income (me) I think it makes us a lot poorer. I won't be 25 until halfway through 2016, so I can still be claimed as a dependent if I get done with school before then. My parents don't make as much as he does combined.

Just sort of feeling out my options and things, and you guys helped! I don't want to wait any more to get married, and I also don't want to wait any more to get my master's. I'm trying to figure out how to do both, and I think I can. I'm pretty good at juggling.

MyNameIsNot · April 2014

Find out what your FI earns annually and go talk to your financial aid office.

There are too many moving parts for us to know what will happen.

manateehugger · April 2014

Blah! Ignore my first post! I gave bad info. I forgot we were talking graduate school - most of the time you don't have to report your parent's income for grad school. I didn't even though I was 23. So technically, it may be best to not get married, but it may not change your loan amount a whole bunch. Play around with the first link - it's a way to fill out FASFA without actually submitting it. The second is FASFA FAQ's for grad students.

https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf

Edit: Issues today. I can't get that first link to work, but just google "FASFA Forecaster" and click on the first thing that pops up.

larrygaga · April 2014

Yeah, I didn't expect you guys to tell me for sure either way. I'm mostly looking for personal experience.

manateehugger · April 2014

My personal experience - I got better grants from the federal government by remaining a poor single grad student, but it wouldn't have affected the unsubsidized federal direct loans offered to me (I forget what happened to the Perkins loan).

But honestly, I wanted to finish my master's as a personal thing before getting married regardless. I say wait until you start hearing back from schools, look at program requirements, and then make a decision with your FI about when you're ready to get married.

mbross3 · April 2014

PDKH said:

Blah! Ignore my first post! I gave bad info. I forgot we were talking graduate school - most of the time you don't have to report your parent's income for grad school. I didn't even though I was 23. So technically, it may be best to not get married, but it may not change your loan amount a whole bunch. Play around with the first link - it's a way to fill out FASFA without actually submitting it. The second is FASFA FAQ's for grad students.

https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf

Edit: Issues today. I can't get that first link to work, but just google "FASFA Forecaster" and click on the first thing that pops up.

I was going to say this--but you beat me to it!

Technically for grad school you will likely be an independent student anyway, and so getting married will lessen the amount of aid you're getting (unless your H is also a student getting fed loans, but that's not the case for you). However, it likely won't make too much of a difference. The real issue will be what your expected contribution will be--which will be based off of your H's income and yours if you're married. Your expected contribution is subtracted from the total costs and the remaining amount is the amount you can take out in Direct unsubsidized loans. The remaining amount you can take out in Direct GradPLUS loans (higher interest rate). Don't take private loans if you don't have to, fed loans have the best policy for paying back.

I will say that if you can wait until after you apply for financial aid to get married it may help. The higher your expected contribution, the harder it will be for you. And the fed gov is crazy with the expected contribution. My first year of law school I had just left a job paying 32K a year. My expected contribution was 15K because about 17K is what the government expects each person in a household needs to live for one year (food, housing, all of it).

Anyway, I recommend having a serious talk with your FI and with a financial advisor from your school. You need to be completely on the same page with your FI about school costs and who will pay for what and what you can afford.

larrygaga · April 2014

Thanks everyone again! All comments are helpful. Once I graduate I am going to start playing around with different options. I would only be able to work part time because of field work require in my master's. If everyone goes how I want it to go, I would get married after my first semester in my master's. It's either then or wait 3 years until I'm done. You guys are literally my first research on all this, which is why I don't know anything I should already know.

Maybe I'll just move to a country where school is free. That would solve all my problems. JK

kla728 · April 2014

This is unrelated to your question but I would just recommend that you venture over to the student board to observe the experiences of others who are planning a wedding while in school. It sounds like you are planning on having the wedding shortly after you start school, so most of the planning will be done by then. I think this is a pretty wise choice. But it can still be a huge balancing act and the experience of others may be helpful to you. Speaking as someone who got engaged in the middle of graduate school and will be graduating < 4 months before my wedding, so I did most of the intense planning while in school (and working FT)

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