I agree with that sentiment. I am married, and I have a child. My wife and child will not be coming with me to the Bay area if I am accepted. I will be living in a cardboard box and eating ramen in the Valley, but the necessary financial arrangements have been made to ensure that my son will continue his current (private) school, the bills will be paid at home, and life will continue more or less as normal for the 3+ months I am away.
It comes down to how badly you want the experience. Look at it this way: Grad school at Stanford is ~40k/year, not including living expenses. Making whatever sacrifices necessary to experience ycombinator should be significantly less, but the experience and contacts most likely will dwarf what you are most likely to gain from a top tier graduate program in Engineering. Is it worth the investment? I can't speak for anyone but myself when I say "Absolutely."
It comes down to how badly you want the experience. Look at it this way: Grad school at Stanford is ~40k/year, not including living expenses. Making whatever sacrifices necessary to experience ycombinator should be significantly less, but the experience and contacts most likely will dwarf what you are most likely to gain from a top tier graduate program in Engineering. Is it worth the investment? I can't speak for anyone but myself when I say "Absolutely."