However, the 19-year-old from Smythes Creek has fewer headaches at least from a financial point of view after earning a rural achiever scholarship from Rural Bank.

Ms Daffey was settling into university life in Townsville and considering the prospect of a part time job to help ends meet - a daunting prospect given a full course schedule.

Then during O-Week she received confirmation the number of successful scholarship applications had expanded from three to six, and that she would be one of them. 

"It was a wonderful surprise," she said. "I didn't know they would do that (increase from three to six)

"I applied in December. I had to submit an online application, detailing my experience in the agricultural industry. Rural Bank is in agriculture so the scholarship is about helping people go back in to the agriculture. I then had a phone interview in February explaining my application, and then got the news.

"It helps with accommodation. Without the scholarship I might have had to find part time work. It is a five year course and I couldn't have paid for everything with the money I saved up. Now I can pay for accommodation and concentrate on my course rather than have to balance it with part-time work."

Ms Daffey has been around farm animals most of her life. Her parents have sheep farm at Cape Clear. 

After completing secondary school at Loreto College in Ballarat she deferred entry into her course at James Cook University to have a gap year. But instead of merely taking a year off study, Ms Daffey worked on a cattle station in Northern Territory for a season - with no phone reception or internet.

Late last year she returned home and then worked on a goat farm in Clunes. 

"I really like large animals like cattle and sheep," she said. "I am really experienced with horses because I grew up with them. 

"I'd love to work in a remote location again. I loved it (in the Northern Territory). I think that helped my application." 

The Rural Bank scholarship provides $5000 each year for two years to candidates identified as "Australia's brightest emerging agricultural talent".

After receiving 53 applications, Rural Bank managing director Paul Hutchinson said it was an easy decision to expand the number of scholarships to six.

"We expected first-class applications and a vast number of them, and we weren't let down," Mr Hutchinson said.