…but there is cost to the student or their family. The difference being that paying for it or not is not an option. You can’t just say “I won’t go to uni, so I won’t pay for it”

> It means "at no cost to the student".

and GP's whole point was that it is not at no cost to the student.

Apologies if reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.

> "Free" doesn't mean "has no cost paid by anyone" and never has in these discussions.

Calling these programs “free” obfuscates the issue because there are people (even college-educated people) who genuinely believe the government can just make something appear from nothing; they genuinely don’t understand that the resources have to come from somewhere, which means someone else who does not necessarily benefit from the program pays for it now or those benefitting from the program have to pay for it later.

> Apologies if English isn't your first language.

I would encourage you to review the site guidelines. These kinds of quips are discouraged here.