The media buys into this kind of stuff ALL THE TIME. Witness the breathless articles every year about students who received OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN SCHOLARSHIPS (when the total of all scholarship offers is an utterly meaningless number and said student may or may not have the one GOOD offer that they actually need). Also the equally-breathless articles about low-income students who were accepted to Ivy League Schools “with a full scholarship!!!”, because these schools meet need and that student’s documented need qualifies them for that much aid… but every single journalist will parrot this as if the scholarship were an extra and miraculous thing.
I always feel like a scrooge, but my point isn’t to diminish these students’ achievements; it’s just irritation at the uninformed parroting of misinformation. And this story did indeed set off my “here we go again” alarms. However, a lot of students would’ve just kept the scholarship and let Harvard pocket the money. It was smart and thoughtful of this student to do this, even if it doesn’t cost her personally.