Finanial Aid, Marital Status

Nursing Students Post Graduate

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Does your marital status have anything to do with financial aid? I have heard that you should definitely not get married prior to attending graduate school, because they will only consider your TOTAL household income, not how many people earn it, or if your partner is in school as well.

This doesn't make any sense to me, but I thought I'd ask.

In other words, if one were planning on getting married, should that be done after grad school?

No, talking about marriage is not weird at all. And sorry I didn't notice you were a guy! :trout:

What is weird is I added up the total cost for my tuition, and substracted it from the total amount of loans I can get.........then I googled "how long can a human survive on tap water alone"

It's going to be a tight two years!

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Hey! Guys can marry guys too ... at least where I live they sure can! :lol2:

Sorry to digress from the topic. On another note, I did get a fin aid offer letter from a different program that I decided not to attend. Private school, ABSN, 50K for one year. (remember fin-aid-wise, ABSN is considered grad school)

I was able to get the program covered in a variety of different loans. I happen to be married with 2 kids, so having dependents does change things. However, it does not look like I was able to get the maximum amount of subsidized loans--meaning I would be paying more interest on them. It was close to the maximum amount they offer though.

The biggest thing I noticed is that the federal loans (Stafford), subsidized and unsubsidized, only covered a small portion of the tuition. The remainder of the cost needs to be payed on Alternative loans.

Alternative loans are NOT need based. They are based on your credit. So, Mvanz, I don't know the cost of your program, but if your fin aid looks anything like mine, your total income will not be nearly as important as your credit score. ... so go ahead, get married, loans are loans!

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Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.

Yes, your joint income will affect what you will get percentage-wise with subsidized vs. unsubsidized loans. During my 1st year of grad school I worked, so with our combined income I did not qualify for subsidized loans. The next year I didn't work, so I did qualify for a certain percentage of my loan to be subsidized since our total income was only based on my husband's.

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I'm working on a second bachelor's degree -- and yes, my husband's income did impact my financial aid. I am not eligible for anything but an unsubsidized loan, even though by my going back to school, I cut our income in half. (For my first degree, I only borrowed $3,000, so the borrow limit is not a factor.) I can only hope for scholarships based on academic merit.

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Specializes in Accepted...Master's Entry Program, 2008!.

I still don't understand what your "current" income has to do with anything. The second you quit your job to return to school, your income is $0.00. I really don't understand the point of that question. If returning full time, your income is irrelevant.

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I just received my Financial Aid Award letter from my college. I am enrolled in an MN program (similar to a 2nd degree BSN), and I'm shocked that I am eligible for subsidized loans. My husband makes good money, and I work part-time in a retail environment. I earned very little last year.

Loans appears to be based more on the student's income, not the spouse, at least in my case. Has anyone else experienced this? Does Masters vs. Bachelors make a difference?

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Specializes in ICU.
I still don't understand what your "current" income has to do with anything. The second you quit your job to return to school, your income is $0.00. I really don't understand the point of that question. If returning full time, your income is irrelevant.

There you go again! If ANYTHING has the word "Federal" in it (as in FAFSA), don't expect the rules to make sense.:nono: My rule of thumb is "if it makes sense, then you must be missing something."

Some universities do give out "free" money. I'm still waiting to hear if I get one, or how much it is. At the University of Cincinnati, University Graduate Scholarships are based solely on your GRE scores - not your GPA, marital status, or anything else. We'll see!

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
I still don't understand what your "current" income has to do with anything. The second you quit your job to return to school, your income is $0.00. I really don't understand the point of that question. If returning full time, your income is irrelevant.

It's not actually current income, it's the previous years income & current assets.

May be unfair, but that's what they calculate. The bright spot is that the following year you'll hopefully qualify for more. Plus, your aid for the final year is based on a low income, even though halfway through that last calender year (graduation) you'll find a job for $30,40,50000 or more.

Some folks may still work part time, but everyone would say anticipated income would be "zero" if they knew it would kick up their aid.

The applications are a snapshot of finances at specific points in time. Arbitrary but necessary.

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