Chad and Kristen Geri knew each other eight months when they got married at dawn on the beach in Sydney, Australia, six years ago. Though they had met in person just three months before they married, they had been communicating through calls and e-mails for several months.

"We met each other online through a movie review site," Kristen said. "We just hit it off right away."

Five months after their initial meeting on the Internet, Chad decided to fly to the United States from Australia to meet Kristen in person for the first time.

"We've never been apart ever since," Kristen said. "From the first moment we saw each other, we both pretty much knew - that we were meant to be together." Chad is now a third-year student in veterinary medicine while Kristen works to support both of them.

Like many students who are married while in college, the Geris have struggles with which they have learned to cope throughout their marriage, including their finances.

"We apply for financial aid since vet school is so expensive," Kristen said. "It's not that bad though if you can make a budget and stick to it."

She also said that they lived in the Jardine Apartment complex previously in order to save money.

Kebing Yu, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, also deals with marriage struggles while in college.

He said he thought one of the biggest challenges of his marriage was finances.

"I support my family through my GRA assistantship. My wife is not working right now - but she wants to apply for her master's soon - so she'll probably be working after she graduates."

He said he and his wife have no children and are waiting until they are financially stable.

Yu said he first met his wife in an English-language class in China.

"We've been married for about a year," Yu said. "I love her goodness."

Chad said another issue people should consider before marriage are the virtues of being single. However, he said he has absolutely no regrets about his marriage.

He also said that through his marriage he has had to learn how to handle conflict. Chad said he used to handle conflict poorly, because it was easy for him to snap and bicker at someone when he was exhausted and overwhelmed.

However, the Geris have found ways to communicate better with one another.

"We credit our Christian faith as a factor that has made our marriage such a strong, long-lasting one," Kristen said. "The only regret I have is that we didn't get pre-marital counseling. I don't think our expectations were as realistic as they could or should have been for the first year or so of our marriage."

Kristen added that finding time to spend with her husband is also something with which the couple struggles.

"Vet school can be very time-consuming - but we find ways to deal with that," she said.

Yu said another challenge he must contend with is being in a foreign country in general.

"Most of the challenges are listening to and speaking English," Yu said. "There are also major cultural differences between China and the U.S."

Yu and his wife like to do many things in their free time.

"We meet friends, play tennis, do research and help out with the Chinese Student Association," he said.