"Speaking to peers and family, it was suggested that getting a job in music may be more difficult. I also knew that my academic talents were perhaps a little stronger in biology than in music. So I chose Biomed.
"I would say that I was perhaps a little more passionate about music, but Biomed seemed 'future-proof'."
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Goodin is now 28 and a research technician for the famous Dunedin Study of 1000 people born in 1972-73.
"I don't regret choosing Biomed, because it has led me to a great career now – in the sciences – which I enjoy and also pays enough to allow me to have bought my first home with my partner," she says.
"I do regret not doing some music though, whether as a double degree or as a minor of some sort.
"At the time it seemed like it was wasting money to follow something that was purely for my personal development rather than being a pathway to financial gain. An extra $5000-$10,000 on top of the already growing loan was tricky to justify."
Goodin calculated in her first year at university that she was paying a few dollars for every minute of class time. Based on her $7000 first-year student loan for fees and course costs, she now puts the cost at about $20 an hour.
She did a degree and postgraduate diploma at Victoria, then a master's in genetics at Otago. All up, her student loan was $67,000.
She reckons she could have borrowed about $15,000 less if she had saved more in a two-year gap between the two universities, applied for scholarships, and used online resources instead of borrowing to buy textbooks.
But she believes she would have worked just as hard even if she had not had to pay anything.
"Time is a massive investment too and, despite popular opinion, I don't think many young students, like I was, dedicate valuable years to study without the intention of performing well. The pressure to achieve is there, whether the debt is there or not," she says.
She has missed out on the classic Kiwi "overseas experience" because she would have had to pay interest on her loan, but she has had two short trips overseas and is "not too upset about not having done a big OE".
She accepts that students should pay a share of tuition costs and feels the only issue is whether the students' current share is appropriate.
"If money is a significant barrier to students entering tertiary education and a barrier to them performing well in it, then perhaps the balance needs to shift to a higher percentage of those fees coming from the government," she says.
"The calculation of the split should be based on data gathered from the students themselves – whether contemplating study, presently studying or having completed that education."
