The cons of being married in college
Time and money are what everyone needs a little more of but for some married students, 26 hours in a day and a couple more bucks could go a long way.
The idea of being married while attending college seeming bad doesn’t cross the mind of many at Utah State but one student opening admits the hardship he has had while trying to balance school, his marriage, study time and free time.
Milo Jensen, senior studying history, has been married for two years. Although he said he loves his wife, he openly admits that mixing academics with marriage is no walk in the park.
“The biggest challenge has been money,” Jensen said. “Money has been the topic of things we worry about all the time. I would advise talking about finances before marriage.”
Speaking of his own experience, Jensen said he would advise couples to be realistic with each other.
“You aren’t going to be living high on the hog so don’t beat yourself up over it,” he said.
Money isn’t the only thing Jensen has found to be a challenge with marriage, he said. In trying to balance work, school, study time and personal time Jensen said he feels like he has been “torn in many directions at the same time.”
Jensen isn’t the only one who feels this way. According to the Journal of College Student Development, “Married students reported significantly high levels of marital distress on multiple relationship dimensions.”
With 7 percent of students being married, marriage among students is no anomaly.
Kadee Hoffer, junior studying biology, echoed some of the same sentiments as Jensen, naming time and money as the two things she has little of.
“It’s hard to find time to do what I want and be wife,” she said.
Hoffer said she enjoys being married very much and although marriage may have some down sides, it also has a lot of upsides, like “having someone to cry at home when you’ve had bad day.”
–ch.jensen@aggiemail.usu.edu