BYU's reputation for having a lot of married students recently caught the attention of reporters at the Huffington Post.
BYU married couple Andrew and Samantha McKinley had a unique opportunity to be interviewed on Monday, in front of a live online audience, on Huff Post Live. Mike Sacks interviewed the couple and two students from other universities, all who have also made the decision to get married.
Andrew and Samantha McKinley were interviewed on HuffPost Live about being married while in college.
Sacks asked questions about what it's like being married while still in college and how it's different from being single. Sacks also asked questions pertaining specifically to the BYU culture. He asked the married couple if LDS missions and the older age group of students had something to do with the high marriage rate at BYU.
'It does play a part, because people come back and are older and more mature,' Samantha McKinley said. 'We also all share similar religion, values and outlook on life that plays a part.'
Sacks also asked the McKinleys if BYU students feel left out or like a failure if they leave college not having found someone to marry.
'I think there's a lot of different perspectives to look at it from,' Andrew McKinley said. 'I think given our scenario we really wanted to get married because of our background and we were very similar to each other. I think for other students they might think that there is a little rush, because this is the only time in your life when you're going to be surrounded by 30,000 other students who have your similar faith, similar background, similar culture and similar upbringing. When you're out in the real world you're going to meet less people of the same faith, so I think that definitely attributes to it.'
'Rather than doing some of the things that a typical college student would do, Friday and Saturday nights are all about going on group dates and single dates. So a lot of students have marriage on their mind, but it isn't everyone,' Samantha McKinley said.
Paul Bowers, a student at the University of South Carolina, and Caroline Shaughnessy, a student at the University of Virginia, were also interviewed about their decision to get married while in college. They mentioned that it isn't as common to get married as it may be at BYU, but they are glad they made the decision nonetheless.
'I get to live with my best friend,' Bowers said. 'It's beautiful.'
Sacks' last question to the McKinleys was if they had any regrets for getting married younger. The husband and wife were firm in their answers.
'No, not at all,' Samantha McKinley said. 'We've been wanting this for over two years, and we've been so excited for it. We have so many dreams and ambitions for what we want to do with our lives, and having each other's support along the way just makes it so much better.'
The interview can be watched by visiting Huffpostlive.com or by clicking here.