Not the way you might fear. Time in school can count toward the two-year history when your degree lines up with the job you took. Fannie Mae allows a borrower with less than two years on the job to qualify when the file documents that they were recently in school or a training program relevant to their current position, backed up with transcripts or a diploma. FHA treats schooling in the prior two years much the same way. A nursing degree leading into a nursing job, or a law degree into legal work, connects the education to the career in a way underwriters accept. Two caveats worth knowing: - This is an allowance that offsets a short history; the rest of the file still has to hold up. - The fit matters. When the new job has little to do with the field you studied, the school time no longer bridges the gap. To document it, expect to hand over transcripts or your diploma, and your loan application shows the education period alongside your current job. A recent graduate who lined up work in their field usually does not have to wait two years on the job before qualifying. If your situation sits somewhere in between, the free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes) is an easy place to map your income history against what a given program actually requires.