I am not sure where you come by the information that it is fairly rare for a family with an income of over $300,000 to receive a merit award at Duke. That is completely inaccurate with regards to the Robertson. Duke has a variety of merit awards. Some, like the University Scholars do look at need, others definitely do not. When a scholarship does not require you to fill out a FAFSA (like Robertson) they do not consider financial need in any part of their decision making process.