Diplomas, gowns and mortarboards may not be the only images dancing through some seniors’ heads — wedding bells, tuxedos and white dresses may be as well.

Ronald Werner-Wilson, director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic and associate professor of human development and family studies, said marriage usually crosses people’s minds when they feel like they need to get on with their lives; usually, at the transition from their education into the work force.

“If one graduates from high school and starts a job right away, they may feel more pressure to get married,” Werner-Wilson said. People may feel that same pressure when they finish college and get a job.

Jenny Bissing, senior in genetics, is engaged to be married. She said she agrees with Werner-Wilson.

“It just seemed like the perfect time because we will be graduating, moving away and getting new jobs, starting from scratch,” she said.

Instead of waiting to get married until after college or during their last year, as Bissing plans, other ISU students have found it beneficial to wed younger.

Brian Witthoeft, senior in electrical engineering, said life with his wife Meghan has been easier since being married.

“At the end of the day, we used to go our separate ways, but now we see each other more often, even when we are just studying,” Witthoeft said. “It gives me more of an incentive to complete school because if you don’t, it affects both of us instead of just one.”

Jeremy Jacobsen, junior in political science, has been married to wife Shannon for five months. He said being married has increased his class attendance since he doesn’t go out as much anymore.

“This is my best semester yet,” Jeremy said. “I found that just going to class makes such a big difference.”

Both couples agree that one of the biggest obstacles in marriage is financial stability.

“I think a huge thing for every college student is financial stability,” Witthoeft said. “We knew we were ready maturity-wise; we had to think, ‘Can we afford to get married in college?'”

Shannon Jacobsen said she believed waiting until both she and her husband were financially stable would be too much of a compromise.

“I think if we would have waited to pay off credit cards and things, it never would have happened,” she said.

Werner-Wilson said many things in a new marriage can be challenging, including relations with in-laws and friends; children; spending money; household tasks and even things like who takes out the trash or who makes the bed.

Witthoeft said he recommends people considering marriage make sure they are fully prepared emotionally and financially.

“A good way to learn a lot about the other is to go through an engagement class,” he said. “That was one of the best things we could have done. It made us really think through how the other one is going to react in arguments and the importance of communication.”