April Holcombe is a transgender arts student currently studying in Sydney.
Outside of class, she splits most of her time between working for the student union and practising Mandarin and German with friends.
But she says being a student in Sydney has its challenges.
"It's very difficult and very expensive. Rents are through the roof. Food is costing more and more every year."
She calls the Turnbull Government's newly proposed changes to higher education "outrageous," particularly for those already struggling to manage their current budgets.
"It's kind of, 'Put the debt out of sight, out of mind, for now, and try not to think about it, how I'm going to juggle that later,' because just the bare essentials of today is difficult. Something can come up, or an extra cost you didn't factor in takes it out for that week. And what have you got to do? Basically, yeah, eat less."
But there are others, like Sydney economics student Kerrod Gream, who say the proposals are a win for the taxpayer.
"The benefits from a university degree are absolutely enormous. And I think, in the end, it should come down to those of us who are studying to pay for our degrees and not expect those who haven't had the opportunity to go to uni to actually subsidise and pay for all our degrees."
The changes come after the release of a Government-commissioned study by Deloitte Access Economics.
It found that, between 2010 and 2015, the average cost of delivering a degree had increased by 9.5 per cent per student.
But it said university revenues grew by 15 per cent.
The changes proposed by the Government would save the government almost $3 billion over four years.
While it ends the Coalition's attempts to deregulate university fees, the proposal calls for linking university funding to completion rates, student satisfaction and employment outcomes.
Universities also face a 2.5 per cent cut to teaching payments over the next two years, which Jeannie Rea from the National Tertiary Education Union says puts further pressure on staff.
"The universities are really relying upon the loyalty and the commitment of staff, far above and beyond what one would usually do in a job they love, but just because they have to, because there aren't enough people employed, and employed in proper jobs."
Vicki Tomson is chief executive of the Group of Eight, representing Australia's eight biggest universities.
She says many in the sector are concerned the measures could make Australia less attractive to international students.
"We want to be able to demonstrate that Australia is open for business, and we want to actually encourage international students to study and to research at our universities. And this is just one more of those little sort of nips and tucks which damages that perception."
The Government is already holding discussions with the Senate crossbench in hopes of bringing in the changes next year.
