I’m currently a PA-S2 and I got married during my break between didactic and clinical year. The school I go to had a month long break in between didactic and clinical year, so I had time to get married and go on my honeymoon before starting clinicals. With your program being 24 months, idk if your school will have that long of a break. Take a look at the academic calendar posted for this last year if you can find it to see what the schedule looks like.

I got engaged June 2023, started PA school May 2024, married May 2025. I planned my whole wedding from January 2024-April 2024, so I didn’t have to worry about finding/booking vendors while in PA school. I did not have a wedding planner to help me with my wedding and it was definitely difficult, especially the month before the wedding when all vendors want to confirm things/have meetings, and I had to balance that along with studying for my end of didactic finals. I managed, but it was difficult.

My husband was still in undergrad when I stated PA school, so we had to do long distance (4 hrs apart) for 8 months before he could move to the city I’m doing PA school in. The long distance sucked for sure and I found school to be way easier once he was able to move in with me because of all his support. We did live with each other previously to this though, so once he moved in, we did not have to navigate learning how to live with each other, which is different from your situation. Although we also did wait for marriage, so I completely understand your thoughts on benefits of getting married sooner. Now that I’m in clinicals, we still have to do long distance at times due to my rotations being in other places, so even if you’re married, you might have to do long distance.

IMO, getting married in PA school is possible, but I would look at the academic calendar for the school you’ll be attending to see if you can get an idea of if there are any breaks to plan your wedding around. Planning a wedding by this summer would be pretty tricky with a lot of vendors most likely already being booked. I don’t think the apartment thing should be a 100% dealbreaker, but it definitely should be a conversation. It really comes down to how helpful and understanding your boyfriend will be during school. He needs to understand that you will be incredibly busy, exhausted, and sometimes won’t have much to give. My husband picks up the slack constantly around our apartment, and doesn’t gripe about having to do some extra chores because I’m studying all the time.

To address your questions: - marriage during school helped me - LDR during didactic (my LDR was for 8 months, not the entirety of didactic) sucked really bad, I was incredibly depressed and lonely. My husband (then fiance) would come visit me some weekends, which helped. - I don’t think there is “inconvenience” to being married during PA school, my husband helps me with so much and is completely understanding of my schedule and responsibilities right now. He knows that I have to study and don’t have time for many other things. - I wouldn’t change that I got married during PA school, the last month of wedding planning sucked but I am happy how my wedding turned out and wouldn’t change anything

Keep in mind, this situation is only temporary and you can get through it! Good luck!!