Exeter, NH (February 11, 2008)—Twenty-five seniors from Phillips Exeter Academy have been named finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The winners are: Vivek A. Agarwala of State College, PA; Brian T. Basham of Brush Prairie, WA; Sean E. Beckett of Rochester, NY; Laura A. Blake and Tara I. Burton of New York, NY; Ja-Yoon Choe of Los Angeles, CA; Libbie D. Cohn of Wappingers Falls, NY; Manning Ding of Johnston, IA; John T. Ettinger of New York, NY; Lynn Ann Forrester of Pound Ridge, NY; Naomi C. Funabashi of Phoenix, AZ; Yingyu Gao of Hockessin, DE; Yi Han of Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Kao of Shanghai, China; James D. Karraker of Morgantown, WV; Anna C. Kelly of Austin, TX; Eric M. LaPointe of Essex, MA; Owen C. McAleer of Alexandria, VA; Sekhar R. Paladugu of Covina, CA; Jaime Piedra of Brooklyn, NY; Anne T. Pope of Larchmont, NY; Alison K. Rittershaus of Trevett, ME; Nicholas J. Spanier of Exeter, NH; Joshua M. Taylor of Doylestown, PA; and Francisco L. Unger of Cambridge, MA.

Each February, approximately 90 percent of the semifinalists#more than 14,000 students—are notified of their standing in the 53rd annual academic competition. Finalist candidates submit outstanding cumulative transcripts, SAT scores, principal recommendations and a reflective essay. The Merit Scholarship Program—which began in 1955—awards stipends of $2,500 each, totaling $34 million. Awards are given in the fall of each winner’s first year in college.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less-than-one percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. To initially qualify, 1.4-million high school juniors submit PSAT scores, and must be enrolled full-time in a four-year high school and hold U.S. citizenship.

A complete list of upcoming events is available on the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at (603) 777-4309 and on our website at http://www.exeter.edu/. For directions, call (603) 777-4330.

Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory school that was founded in 1781 and originated the system of instruction known as Harkness teaching in 1931. In the spirit of its charter to foster both goodness and knowledge, a Phillips Exeter Academy education will now be free to any admitted student whose family income is $75,000 or less. Committed to educational excellence, the school meets all demonstrated financial aid needs of its admitted students, making the Academy effectively “need blind.” The diverse student body comes from a wide variety of geographic, economic, racial and religious backgrounds approximately from 45 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and 23 foreign countries.