When you take out a student loan, you're borrowing money that you have to pay back, usually with interest. You can take out a federal loan from the government through FAFSA, or get a private loan from a lender. Scholarship money is all yours. You don’t have to pay it back unless you fail to meet some specific requirement of the scholarship you won, like maintaining a certain minimum GPA. You can get scholarships from organizations like foundations, corporations, community groups, and educational institutions.