So you don't need to apply (normally) for a student visa until after you're officially accepted?
Actually, you are not allowed to apply for a student visa before you have been officially accepted...and you cannot apply for the visa more than 3 months before your course begins, so typically, you can't apply until June or July if you will be starting the course in September.
Before you can apply for a student visa, first the university needs to accept you, then they need to issue you with an official Tier 4 Certificate of Sponsorship (this is usually issued a few months after you have been accepted, generally in June or July). Then you need to make sure your finances are sorted out (your loans are approved etc.) and then finally, after all of that has been sorted out, you can apply for a student visa.
Or if you apply for a spousal visa, you just need the acceptance to the university, and won't have to get a Certificate of Sponsorship, finances sorted out or apply for a student visa.
So if I were married then that would take care of it? I'm a little confused about how moving there works, we're still in the early research stages. Once you are officially married (ceremony is in US in June 2014) then am I allowed to go right over there? Or do you apply for a spouse visa after the wedding/wait however long/then move to the UK?
Basically I'm just worried that I won't be legally allowed to live in the UK as a spouse before school begins in Sept 2014!
First you get married, then you apply for a spousal visa and then you can move to the UK.
You can't apply for the spousal visa until after you are married and have the marriage certificate, but you can prepare your application documents and start filling out the online application form before the wedding.
For the visa, you will need to gather all the supporting documents (your husband could bring his documents to the US with him when you marry), then fill out the online form, submit and pay for the visa, and book a biometrics appointment. Then you attend the biometrics appointment (usually just a few days after submitting the online application), and mail your documents to the NYC consulate. You can pay $300 for a priority processing service which shouldget your visa processed in 15 working days (sometimes this can be as fast as 48 hours, but it's been taking a bit longer than 15 days at the moment, due to a backlog of applications). They will mail you the visa and your documents back when it has been processed.
When you have your visa, you can move to the UK. If you are organised and get the application basically ready so you can apply soon after the wedding, you could probably have the visa and be able to move to the UK sometime in July or August, ready to start school in September.