<p>I just checked the Princeton information, you need to be a little careful here with the exact wording:</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University | The Financial Aid Package](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/how_it_works/the_financial_aid_package/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/how_it_works/the_financial_aid_package/)</p>
<p>“External scholarships: Students may receive funding from sources outside Princeton, such as the National Merit or local community scholarships. Students apply for these awards separately from their Princeton financial aid application. Outside awards are used first to reduce the student earnings portion of the aid package — the campus job and summer savings expectations. Funds left over can be put toward the cost of a personal computer, and any remaining awards will be applied to Princeton grants.”</p>
<p>It states that outside scholarships will be applied FIRST to WS and summer savings expectations. Their WS is 1.4k, and while I don’t see summer earnings for P, at Y it is 1.2k for freshmen. So, outside scholarships would have to be over about 2.5k before you could use them towards a computer.</p>