Changing Last Name Soon, Mid-2016 Application Cycle

[gingin6789]

Hi, everyone!

First, I apologize if this topic is posted in the wrong forum. Please move or delete this thread as you see fit, mods. If you delete it, please let me know where to re-post it though.

For a number of reasons, my fiance and I have decided to get married soon, as in perhaps this week or next week. We simply want to get married at the courthouse. 

I also wish to take his last name (something I'm very adamant about).

However, I have already submitted my PhD program applications under my current (maiden) last name. 

How will it affect the application process if my last name is different when/if I get accepted to PhD programs and enroll in one of those PhD programs?

Should I simply wait a bit to change my last name, until I've heard back from all the programs/enrolled in one? (Is it even possible to wait that long after getting married to change my last name? I'd like to change my name soon after getting married, if at all possible.) I'm not sure what to do!

Thanks for your help, all.

[med latte]

Congrats, gingin6789!

No need to worry. As long as you haven't changed your email or mailing address, you should still get notices from the schools you applied to. There is no set deadline for changing your name, so I would suggest waiting until you've heard back from schools, and then change your name. Then register for fall classes with your new name and your new ID paperwork.

Here's a good checklist for the process - http://www.brovadoweddings.com/blog/2013/03/the-ultimate-post-wedding-name-change-checklist/

 

[ihatechoosingusernames]

It shouldn't really affect anything. When you're accepted to a school, just let the registrar's office know that you have a new name that you're signing up under and that should be that. Depending on the school you may have to provide a copy of your marriage license along with a name change form. If you're still applying to schools (which it doesn't seem like you are), there's a box on the applications where you can list your maiden name. That's what I've been using

Congrats on the marriage! I highly recommend courthouse marriages. Granted, I'm an eloped military spouse so everything was kind of on the fly  Changing names is a minor pain in the ass, but seems to be an oddly fluid process. I still have my debit card in my maiden name, and there haven't been any problems with that. You could really take as long as you need. Changing my Social Security card and driver's license was the worst only because of the wait times in the office. Other than that, there's never been any hassle! 

Edited December 29, 2015 by ihatechoosingusernames

[shadowclaw]

I'm pretty sure none of your programs will care if you change your name. It's not like you get a new SSN or anything like that which would complicate your application. You will just need to inform them of the name change before they officially enroll you! 

I don't know how long you actually have to change your name, but if there is a limit, it's certainly longer than between now and the end of the application season. I waited a few months before getting my name changed with the SS office because I was traveling internationally a few weeks after I got married and there wouldn't have been enough time to update my passport. It took about nine or ten months to change my drivers license because I made a mistake on my paperwork when I initially went to change it and I was a lazy bum sending in the corrected form. It was over a year before I updated my credit cards, and some of them are still in my maiden name because they wanted me to mail a copy of my marriage license and I just haven't done it yet. 

Just a small note about changing your name. If you do change it and then need to send your GRE scores somewhere or take the GRE again, ETS will not let you change the name on your account. It's not really a problem if you're just sending scores, but be sure to email admissions and tell them that scores are coming under your maiden name. Even though your application has a spot for your maiden name, not a single school I applied to was able to match the scores to my application without me emailing them. This is a problem, though, if you want to take the GRE again - you will either need an id with your old name or you will have to make a new account.

On a side note, I regret changing my name. I double barreled my last name because I didn't actually want to change it but my husband was kind of upset about it, so I compromised. Now people have a hard time understanding what my last name is, it's somewhat long and cumbersome to write, and I'm annoyed that my bachelor's degree and master's degree have different names on them (but at least only slightly!). Think carefully about what last name you want, because it's a real pain (and expensive) to change your name if you didn't get married, divorced, or widowed. 

[gingin6789]

On 12/29/2015 at 10:07 PM, med latte said:

Congrats, gingin6789!

Here's a good checklist for the process - http://www.brovadoweddings.com/blog/2013/03/the-ultimate-post-wedding-name-change-checklist/

 

Thank you, med latte! And thank you for that link! It will be really helpful! 

@ihatechoosingusernames, thank you for your advice, and I'm glad to hear the courthouse marriage and name-changing processes were fairly painless! 

@shadowclaw thank you for your input and for the information on the GREs ... hopefully, this will be my final application cycle and I won't have to send my GRE scores ... but, if something happens and I do need to send them out, I will remember this information! Thank you for the heads up!

And, not to give too much info, but I feel it's most understandable if I am blunt -- my biological father emotionally/psychologically abused me and my family, and I currently bear his last name. But it's more than just getting rid of my biological father's name --  my fiance is the most caring, wonderful, respectful, beautiful person I've ever met. I'd love to have his last name more than anything in the world! =) Thank you very much for your concern ... I'm so sorry it's been difficult with a new last name for you! I've given this much thought, and I do wish to take my fiance's last name =) 

 

I'll keep you all posted on how the process goes, and I hope this thread is useful to people going through this same process in the future!

[TakeruK]

Congratulations! You should be able to change it now without any problems. In fact, your school does not even need to know your new name until you want them to know your new name**. Many of my friends change their last name in their personal life (bank accounts, Facebook, social things etc.) but keep their original name for all academic purposes. My spouse uses their birth certificate to prove use of their birth name and their marriage certificate when they want to prove they are entitled to use their married name. 

(**Note: I mean for academic related things, like your school records etc. They would surely need to know for things like taxes and stipend payment, but you're not at that stage yet!)

So, as others said, change your name if you wish. No need to inform the schools that you've applied to. Once they contact you about an acceptance, and after you accept their offer, go ahead and initiate the name change process once you're a student there. It would be like any other student who chose to change their name while enrolled---they'll know what to do  

I can think of three exceptions where you want to let the school know of the name change prior to this:

1. If you are invited for a visit and the school is booking travel for you and you will be traveling with ID stating your new name. Then you will probably want to let them know at that point that plane tickets and room bookings should say the new name. (**However, see tip below).

2. If you're sending updated information for your application and these items have your new name on them for some reason, then you would want to let them know to connect the two names.

3. If you need your offer letter to say your new name (e.g. you need to use your offer letter to prove proof of funding/income for things like loans, apartment rentals etc.).

That is, you don't have to worry about the schools you've applied to until you need something to officially say your name correctly. No need to pre-empt it, in my opinion.

Finally, a tip: If possible, don't change all of your ID to your new name at once. Usually you have to send in the old copy and you don't want to be left without any pieces of ID at all. One thing my spouse did was change their passport first, and then their driver's license after. So, they would always have one piece of ID with them. And, during the transition period, if they needed something that showed their original name, they used their driver license/birth certificate. Maybe the laws are a little different where you live though, but in Canada, a married person is legally entitled to use either their birth name or their married name (technically they "prefer" that you be consistent, but you are not legally required to make sense).

[gingin6789]

@TakeruK, your post was also incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! =)

[bhr]

For what it's worth, you should be able to reach out to your other schools and have new diplomas issued under your married name. It's also just generally a good idea, if you are staying in academia, to make sure that all your records reflect who you choose to identify as.