I’d just say this: I don’t think that students are incapable of having some good ideas. But good ideas are only valuable if you can separate them from the bad and execute. A student will likely not have the experience to do this, which is why in the real world they work under a more experienced professional as a junior until they can do it themselves. “A push in the right direction” may be all you need, but how do you know which direction that should be?
It seems clear that the OP doesn’t have much experience working with design (pretty indicative of the process not including design at the start). As such I would think you might be worse off chasing your tail trying to wade through design concepts from a student without the ability to filter them and keep in mind execution and other factors.
You’ll get what you pay for, but if funding is tight, there is no sense in throwing good money after bad. A pro will be worth the difference in what you pay them.
R