PT School -- Everyone Will Get Married

I got married after the second year of PT school, and I can attest to it being a very busy stressful time of planning.  However, now that we have been married for nearly 9 months, I am so grateful that I chose to do so.  The planning part is the stressful part, but being married is definitely well worth all the stress. I think it depends on what stage in life you are in, and what your desires are.  For my husband and I, marriage was less financially stressful than living apart and paying two separate rent/utility/cable, etc bills. We also chose not to live together prior to getting married, secondary to our relationship with Christ and our desire to wait until we were married.  I am, however glad we did not wait until right after graduation (it was discussed) because of all the stress of boards and trying to secure a job.

Babies are another story all together.  Definitely a financial stressor and not doable with the loans and business that we have going on in our lives right now.

Getting married a month after PT school graduation sounded like a great idea. I would be done with school and graduation and still could not take the boards for another month. I then would not have to ask for time off the first few months of my new job in order to get married. Perfect plan, right? Wrong. Planning a wedding is a much more drawn-out process than I had expected - a majority of it had to be accomplished during my third clinical and involved many trips back to my hometown 3 hours away. Studying for boards is also a much more drawn out process than expected. I saw a 16-week study plan during our board review class and immediately wondered how my honeymoon and wedding would fit into this carefully detailed study plan. The cost is another factor. Fortunately my parents are shouldering a majority of the burden of the wedding, but loans still run out between graduating and taking the board exam, resulting in me getting a part-time job. During this period when many of my classmates can focus on studying, I am driving halfway across the state for wedding planning, trying to stay on schedule for board review, and trying to get in enough hours at my part-time job so I don't get evicted from my apartment before I get a PT job. It is a lot of life events to happen at once. The name change factor is also a problem. You have to register for boards with one name, and then contact the licensing agency after the wedding to change your name. Here is hoping that this will not be a problem. Stress aside, it is an exciting time of life. Try to complain to people that you are getting married and graduating from PT school and they will laugh at you. But anyone who wants to get married in the month between graduation and taking boards should think carefully about the stress they want to inflict on themselves!

My PT class is a lot like yours. We started PT school with one person being married. We are ending it with 5 married and 7 engaged. I got married over Christmas break, and let me tell you it is not easy planning and paying for a wedding with a full course load, but it is absolutely doable. My thought process was that I did not want to study for boards and plan a wedding at the same time. I don't think all the stress management in the world could prevent an MI in that scenario. I am just grateful I had my mother to help.

Babies are another story altogether. I cannot imagine the stress and time management that goes into raising a child and keeping grades where they should be. I have the utmost respect for everyone who accomplishes that.

oh my stars! I got married and bought a house in my last year of graduate school, when I also had to complete my thesis. It was the hardest year of my life...until this year. Having 2 kids is harder than combining all those other things.