Student Loans and Marriage....

[Robdude]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Has anyone here gotten married in the middle of vet school to someone who earned significantly more than they did?

I want to get married and my spouse is earning 70-75k but I don't want or expect her to pay my tuition or support me. Will I end up shooting myself in the foot if we get married while I'm school?

 

[JSpitz]

.

 

[heylodeb]

Has anyone here gotten married in the middle of vet school to someone who earned significantly more than they did?

I want to get married and my spouse is earning 70-75k but I don't want or expect her to pay my tuition or support me. Will I end up shooting myself in the foot if we get married while I'm school?

Are you refering to the fact that your family contribution will be higher and you might not be able to get your full tuition/living expenses covered by loans?

 

[JSpitz]

Are you refering to the fact that your family contribution will be higher and you might not be able to get your full tuition/living expenses covered by loans?

I just re-read his post. Your understanding makes a lot more sense

 

[StartingoverVet]

Taking out loans is not the problem, all of living expenses should be covered by direct/Grad plus loans. The issue is the type of loans. I don't have the exact numbers but you will lose eligibility to the govt subsidized portion at certain income levels. That means you will pay higher interest on that portion and interest accrues while you are in school.

Check with your the financial aid advisor at your school. Personally, I would hold off on getting married until after school (or at until you are a 4th year). If you are committed then it shouldn't matter anyway, and you can make sure the relationship survives the potential stress of school.

 

[twelvetigers]

The only real benefit, unless you just plain want to, would be marrying for residency. Otherwise, I dunno how it would effect loans, but it seems like it might be bad for your unsubsidized part.

 

[Armymutt25A]

You're going to get hosed. My wife's first year of school, we got very little in sub loans. Didn't get much on the unsub side either. Our taxable income was in the 50K range. The next year I spent half the time in a income tax exclusion zone and our taxable dropped to 20K. Loans got better. If you want to get married, get an expensive house and hope that the govt doesn't decide to take away the interest deduction. That deduction is enough to drop you into the lower tax brackets and may put you below the threshold.

 

[Robdude]

Thanks for the posts everyone.

I wasn't as clear in my OP as I should have been. I'm worried that if we get married our combined income might be ~80k (if I've got a small, part-time job and/or work over the breaks), we wouldn't have any deductions (no house, no kids), and we'll be in Dublin (so tuition is high).

I'm afraid when I apply for student loans for my second year, they are going to say, 'You don't qualify for any subsidized loans, and the max you barrow is 30k' but my tuition will be 35k, or something similar.

Is there a place where they disclose the details for what you qualify for? I wonder if I could run the numbers if I were single vs. if I were married and compare the financial affects. I'll also look into talking to a financial adviser at the school.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Thanks for the posts everyone.

I wasn't as clear in my OP as I should have been. I'm worried that if we get married our combined income might be ~80k (if I've got a small, part-time job and/or work over the breaks), we wouldn't have any deductions (no house, no kids), and we'll be in Dublin (so tuition is high).

I'm afraid when I apply for student loans for my second year, they are going to say, 'You don't qualify for any subsidized loans, and the max you barrow is 30k' but my tuition will be 35k, or something similar.

Is there a place where they disclose the details for what you qualify for? I wonder if I could run the numbers if I were single vs. if I were married and compare the financial affects. I'll also look into talking to a financial adviser at the school.

Can only say at Penn, but the direct loans and grad plus all unsubsidized covers full tuition plus expected living expenses. Income does not factor into it. If you have higher living expenses then you can supplement with private loans (best off if you can avoid that!) . I don't remember the number but think it was something like 61k at Penn.