By LINDSAY EYRE
eyre@du2.byu.edu
Many BYU students have found school isn't as engaging as their quest to find an eternal companion.
Irene Windham, an academic counselor at BYU, said she often sees students whose grades are ruined by their engagements.
'I see those that go the wrong way because they get caught up in all the excitement and that takes all their attention,' she said.
Windham also acknowledged, however, that some engaged students may have better grades because they are more secure in a relationship and want to help each other succeed.
Family science professor Thomas Holman said although some couples' grades may go up, usually grades go down during engagement.
'The general consensus is that grades tend to go down while a couple is engaged and up after marriage, when you're more settled in and not staying up until 3 a.m. every night,' he said.
Carrie Okeson, 21, a senior from Idaho Falls, Idaho, majoring in youth leadership, has been engaged for about a month to Andy Matheny, 22, a sophomore from Bend, Ore. majoring in math education.
Okeson said her grades have actually improved since she has been engaged. 'If I fail a class he has to pay for me to retake it. When you're newlyweds there's not a whole lot of extra money to retake a class,' she said.
Aaron Fisher, 23, a junior from Ely, Nev., majoring in zoology, got engaged over last Thanksgiving to Laura Silvenis, 20, a senior from Lebanon, Ind., majoring in marriage and family therapy.
Staying together until 3 a.m. is not a problem for Fisher and Silvenis, though, because they are both resident assistants at Helaman Halls.
'It's good to have such strict rules. We don't even have the opportunity to mess up,' said Silvenis.
Fisher and Silvenis also take classes together so their study time is more useful.
'We watch out for each other,' said Fisher. 'We study on our own and then quiz each other to see what we learned.'
Although studying together may work for some couples, others can't seem to keep their minds on schoolwork when their intended is around.
Kim McVey, 21, a sophomore from Spring, Texas, majoring in elementary education, has been engaged to Warren Johnson, 24, a senior from Orem majoring in zoology, for two months.
McVey said she has tried to study with Johnson, but it ends up taking twice as long.
Julie Lorimer, 20, a sophomore from Riverton, Wyo., majoring in math education, finds it hard to study with or without her fiance.
'We tried to study together, but we would start laughing and talking and we couldn't concentrate,' she said. 'But it's hard to take the time to study separately because you want to be together all the time.'
To facilitate the time it takes to plan a wedding and spend time together, many couples take a lighter credit load.
Although their grades this semester have not gone down yet, both McVey and Johnson are taking a lighter load of classes.
Adria Smith, a junior from Penryn, Calif., majoring in English, cut down the number of credit hours she was registered for from 15 to six after she became engaged. She is now working full-time because she wants to pay some bills before she gets married.
'I didn't want to threaten my academic standing when my mind wasn't really on school,' she said.
Emily Bradshaw, 21, a senior from Provo majoring in English, has been married for seven months.
She said getting engaged and then married made her grades go downhill.
'I feel like I have a better perspective on things,' she said. 'I have never found a better reason to procrastinate than Dan, and that's why my grades are staying down.'