<p>Carolyn,
Harvard does not give merit awards.
It’s possible that the student received merit aid from another source and used it to help fund their Harvard education. The counselor may have gotten confused about this.</p>
<p>For instance, lots of Harvard students get National merit Scholarships from National Merit or from corporations. They don’t, however, get Harvard-sponsored National Merit scholarships since Harvard doesn’t sponsor such scholarships.</p>
<p>Harvard students also can get need-based financial aid that is designated for certain groups of students who need aid. For instance, I think there’s some need-based aid earmarked for students with certain last names or who come from certain Massachusettes cities.</p>