Should I get married early to receive benefits?

Paying for College
1

<p>My boyfriend and I have been together for over 2 years. He is 22 and Im 20. He started school after graduating high school and got about 2 years under his belt before costs of tuition and car payment got to be way too much. He has always paid for everything and has gotten no help from his parents. His grades were failing before he needed to work long hours to pay for school. Hes currently not in school and I am. My parents have not helped me out with school, but my main cost is rent, groceries, and extras. We talked about getting married early to receive benefits, like Pell Grant and independent status on FASFA. So he can come back to school and we can finish school together. We are not getting married for the wrong reasons, just getting married earlier than planned to take advantage of the benefits that are out there.</p>

<p>Would we have to get our own insurance or since we will be full time students could we still stay on own parents??</p>

<p>Do you think this is a bad idea and why?
PLEASE HELP!!</p>

2

<p>You would have to get your own insurance.</p>

3

<p>You need to find out exactly what financial benefit you will receive before moving the wedding date up just to take advantage of the “married” status for financial aid purposes. My gut reaction is to not do it. The chances are that being “married” will not change your financial picture very dramatically. But it might — that’s what you have to find out. If it makes you eligible for one additional $1000 Pell Grant, then that might not be worth it. But if you can get free money to pay for a substantial portion of tuition, then you’ll need to seriously consider it. Talk to a financial aid staffer at your school and keep digging until you’ve uncovered everything there is to know with regard to this important decision.</p>