The significance of your marital status in the financial aid process has a lot to do with whether or not you can claim dependent or independent status on the FAFSA.
Marriage will usually have a positive impact on your financial aid eligibility if you are under 24 years of age and your spouse does not have high income. This is because you can then claim independent status and your parents' income and assets will not be considered in your financial aid calculations. Your spouse's income, however, will be considered.
Marriage will often have a negative impact on your financial aid reward if you are 24 or over and your spouse has significant income. The reasons for this are two-fold: if you are 24 or over, you are considered to have independent status for financial aid. Thus, only your own income and assets are used to calculate your financial aid eligibility. If, however, you are married, your spouse's income will be part of the calculations.
