I was initially concerned that I would lose $8K of the free money. I lost a total of around $5K of which a good chunk of it was a subsidized loan being converted to an unsubsidized loan. So, from a cash flow perspective, it only cost me $1,500/yr (it was $2,000 one year). From a total out of pocket perspective, it cost me that plus the little bit of extra interest on the now unsubsidized loan. So, in my eyes, I really kept about 75% of the outside scholarship.