Getting married + Vet school?! Questions

[flotus]

Hello, all!

I am planning on getting married in March(ish). I will hopefully be accepted in a program for c/o2027, and I know I will need to update the school on my marital status when that occurs. If I don’t get accepted, of course I will update my marital status on next years VMCAS application and won’t need to worry about reaching out to any individual school about it.

I have these questions;

1.) Will being married effect my financial aid? I.e will I still qualify for full loans for COA regardless of joint income? My future spouse is NOT a U.S. citizen, does that change things?

2.) If I complete my FAFSA right now, my marital status will be single, but by the time I receive aid in the fall…I hope to be married. How do I tell/update FAFSA about my marital status after submitting it?

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[flotus]

Update on question #2…I am actually under the impression I won’t need to update FAFSA because it’s for the previous tax year, in which we wouldn’t have been married and would update accordingly the next year. Woohoo.

 

[VeggieTrex]

So I got married during undergrad, and every school is different, but when it came to financial aid I ended up getting better aid after we got married. We were both college students and didn't have a lot of money, so that was quite helpful. I was also able to transfer to in-state tuition afterwards, which was also incredibly helpful.

You'll probably have paperwork with all of that, especially if you change your name. I didn't so I've got nothing there. Congrats though!

 

[flotus]

So I got married during undergrad, and every school is different, but when it came to financial aid I ended up getting better aid after we got married. We were both college students and didn't have a lot of money, so that was quite helpful. I was also able to transfer to in-state tuition afterwards, which was also incredibly helpful.

You'll probably have paperwork with all of that, especially if you change your name. I didn't so I've got nothing there. Congrats though!

Thank you! <3

 

[battie]

You're guaranteed all you need in loans regardless of your marital status

 

[SkiOtter]

Depending on what school you go to and their rules surrounding residency changes, you may even get lucky and be eligible for IS tuition. I assume they at least have a work visa? But for illinois, if your spouse (or you) make the difference between IS and OOS tuition as your income, you can switch from OOS to IS after a certain amount of time. Worth looking into wherever you go to see what their policies are.

 

[flotus]

Depending on what school you go to and their rules surrounding residency changes, you may even get lucky and be eligible for IS tuition. I assume they at least have a work visa? But for illinois, if your spouse (or you) make the difference between IS and OOS tuition as your income, you can switch from OOS to IS after a certain amount of time. Worth looking into wherever you go to see what their policies are.

Unfortunately she does not have a work visa she is here on a student visa which actually prevents her from making money at all! She’s in grad school now and the goal is to get her green card before she finishes at the institution so she can work right out of school. She will be in higher Ed/social media/sports coaching so we are actually hoping she will be able to secure a job at whatever institution I end up going to vet school at…or at least one close by. That’ll be best case scenario.

Could you explain what you mean by “make the difference between IS and OOS tuition”? I’m a little confused. I really appreciate your information. That’s really awesome and I hope that works out for us. Thank you so much!

 

[SkiOtter]

Could you explain what you mean by “make the difference between IS and OOS tuition”? I’m a little confused. I really appreciate your information. That’s really awesome and I hope that works out for us. Thank you so much!

at illinois to get IS tuition prices if you were accepted as an OOS student, you or your spouse have to earn the amount of money from a job that is the difference in tuition between IS and OOS costs to qualify for a residency status change. If OOS is 53k and IS is 30k, one of you has to earn more than 23k per year for you to be able to switch to in state tuition. I think you have to wait 12 months from the start of earning to when you can switch status?

 

[flotus]

at illinois to get IS tuition prices if you were accepted as an OOS student, you or your spouse have to earn the amount of money from a job that is the difference in tuition between IS and OOS costs to qualify for a residency status change. If OOS is 53k and IS is 30k, one of you has to earn more than 23k per year for you to be able to switch to in state tuition. I think you have to wait 12 months from the start of earning to when you can switch status?

That’s interesting! I wonder why that rule is in place and why it’s so specific lol. That’s really cool though for people who might qualify. I will absolutely be looking into it!! Thank you

 

[VeggieTrex]

For me in Undergrad at Illinois, we didn't have the income requirement because my husband was already an Illinois resident. There were a few documents to fill out, including that we had other reasons to stay in Illinois (his family, plus we own our house). I say this both to provide my experience, and point out that Universities are complex with potentially hidden options.

 

[battie]

That’s interesting! I wonder why that rule is in place and why it’s so specific lol. That’s really cool though for people who might qualify. I will absolutely be looking into it!! Thank you

The rule is in place to prevent OOS getting IS tuition cost. State taxes are used to support the public universities and so IS students pay less because, in theory, they and their family have already been financially supporting the university via state taxes prior to attendance. By making a specific amount of money and paying state taxes on that income, that student and spouse are now financially supporting the university.

Each state has specific rules that determine IS vs OOS and in general, it's based on this premise.

 

[flotus]

The rule is in place to prevent OOS getting IS tuition cost. State taxes are used to support the public universities and so IS students pay less because, in theory, they and their family have already been financially supporting the university via state taxes prior to attendance. By making a specific amount of money and paying state taxes on that income, that student and spouse are now financially supporting the university.

Each state has specific rules that determine IS vs OOS and in general, it's based on this premise.

I get it! I didn’t even think about taxes, but that makes total sense. Thank you