Marriage

[pandulce321]

My boyfriend proposed to me this weekend. He is going to be a 3rd year and I will be starting my first year. We have both already filed our FAFSA for the year. Would there be any benefit to getting married, for legal purposes, as a way of easing our loan burden. His parents make too much money, therefore he receives mostly GRAD Plus loans. My family has a much lower EFC, making me eligible for institutional loans and grants. Would we be able to refile our FAFSA?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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[nlax30]

How old is he? Even if he isn't 24 yet I believe that the fact that he's pursuing a doctorate program alone qualifies him (and us) as not having to include our parents' info on the FAFSA.

Has he specifically asked the fin aid office there if he has to include his parents' info or has he just been doing it out of habit?

If you answer yes to any of the below questions then no you will not need to include any income or assets from your parents.

-Were you born before January 1, 1984?
-At the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, will you be working on a master's or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, or graduate certificate, etc.)?
-As of today, are you married? (Q50) (Answer "Yes" if you are separated but not divorced.) "As of today" refers to the day that you sign your FAFSA.
-Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
-Do you have dependents other than your children/spouse who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2008?
-Are (a) both of your parents deceased, or (b) are you (or were you until age 18) a ward/dependent of the court?
-Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training?
-Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?

 

[elderjack21]

My boyfriend proposed to me this weekend. He is going to be a 3rd year and I will be starting my first year. We have both already filed our FAFSA for the year. Would there be any benefit to getting married, for legal purposes, as a way of easing our loan burden. His parents make too much money, therefore he receives mostly GRAD Plus loans. My family has a much lower EFC, making me eligible for institutional loans and grants. Would we be able to refile our FAFSA?

Thanks in advance for your help!

You could refile your FAFSA...but for the purposes of the federal government, if you are a grad student, you already don't have to include your parents income.

So, the real people you need to talk to are the ones in your school's financial aid office. All schools work this differently. Some require you to do a separate "need analysis" worksheet...so getting married may not really change anything, then again it, may. You should probably talk to them to figure out what is the next best step.

BTW- Marriage is awesome.

 

[gman33]

Talk to your school. It probably won't make any difference.
My school requires you to provide parental info to be considered for any school funding. That would still be YOUR parents and it wouldn't matter if you were married.

 

[Mutterkuchen]

His parents make too much money, therefore he receives mostly GRAD Plus loans.

As was mentioned earlier, it is an institutional decision to include parental income in awarding grants. Mine wanted parental income too, though I have been married for several years. No parental income information=no consideration for grants.

Regarding GRAD Plus loans--Stafford loans are not income dependent. Bill Gates' children would qualify for the same amount of Staffords as your future husband and you. Hopefully he is getting mostly Staffords and a few Grad PLUS (or is it GRAD Plus?) rather than the other way around.

The unsubsidized Staffords are another matter, but as a full time med student, you should still qualify for the max on that as well. Regardless of parental income.

 

[TMP-SMX]

The previous posts were good. It is unlikely you will be eligible for any more need based aid if you were married. If you weren't eligible for perkins loans from your school already getting married probably won't help. Re-filing the FAFSA is pointless because your school does that paperwork anyway. Talk to your financial aid office.