Should one add declined awards to a CV?
I would also agree with your gut feeling in this particular case. I can, however, think of a scenario where a declined award/scholarship should be included on your CV. In countries where you pay to study at a university, you can apply for scholarships/postgraduate awards/student funding. There is often a limit on how much funding an individual can accept. So, say for example you applied for funding from A and B and that these Funding Agents only give funding to high achievers. If you are awarded X from Funding Agent A and Y from Funding Agent B, and you can only accept the funding from Funding Agent A, I would say it is still acceptable to list that you were awarded funding from Funding Agent B but that you were unable to accept it. In cases where the award implies certain personality characteristics/strengths (but doesn't directly compare to the place to which you are applying as in your example), it can be advantageous. I hope that this makes sense.