<p>I think this is less of a “will I get accepted again after 10-15 years” issue and more of a “will I want/be able to go back to school 10-15 years from now” one.</p>
<p>A couple things: A lot can happen 10-15 years from now. Assuming you’re about 20 y/o, you’d then be 30-35. You may have started a family and that money would be better invested in providing for them than for you to go to school. Not saying you will, or should, start a family by that age, but you never know. At 17 I was saying I would never get married and would be a lifetime bachelor like my uncle. 3 1/2 years later I married the love of my life. Stuff happens.</p>
<p>Next is the potential earnings issue. I have read articles and reports that people who go to work right away instead of college have a potential to earn more money over their lifetime than their college educated counterparts becuase for about 4 years you’ve been earning money while they’ve been spending it, and accumulating debt to pay on later - which you wuld in turn not have giving you more disposable income. The problem with this feature is that it can really be hit or miss with many variables affecting that kind of outcome like the college student’s major/career field, or family business connections, or the actual amount of student debt amassed etc. Though there’s some, few would be at a financial advantage by not going to school as early as possible.</p>
<p>If you really can’t afford it now, then that is certainly understandable as education does not come cheap these days (unfortunately). Take a couple to a few years off may be an option, but IMO 10-15 is a bit too far in the future to really keep to any plan you make today. Most Ivys know who can afford to go and who can’t and they give aid accordingly. If you’ve been accepted, the school obviously wants you to attend (either because of your academics, diversity, or financial guarantee to them). They usually do as much as they can to make it happen. Other privates are becoming more generous that some publics these days for low-middle income families. So apply to a few of those and see what kind of FA is offered. Staying in-state will be your cheapest bet (if you can live with family or share a house) because you will most likely be paying less for room and board that way than on-campus OOS.</p>
<p>Lastly I’ll mention that there are some other ways to pay for college. For example, many employers have tuition benefit funds for their employees or military service can qualify you for educational benefits. If you’re interested, I think the military would be a good option. A contract can be relatively short (4 years AD compared to your 10-15), you get paid for a guaranteed job during that time (unless you get kicked out by misconduct), you can obtain valuable job experience in some interesting fields, add some uniqueness to your future college resumes, and if all goes well and you’re Honorably Discharged you can be eligible for the Post 9-11 GI Bill which currently covers up to $17,500 per year plus you get a living stipend which is adjusted for Cost Of Living (For example a student in San Francisco would get more in the living stipend than a student in Utah somewhere). And it currently gives $1,000/yr for books and some other supplies. Basically, if you can complete/put up with 4 years of service (which isn’t all that bad if you can choose a branch and job you would be interested in), then they’ll pay you to got to school.</p>
<p>Just some things to think about.</p>