Exeter, NH (May 6, 2008)—Seven Phillips Exeter Academy students have been awarded National Merit Scholarships for 2008. Four of the winners will receive full National Merit Scholarships, and three will receive full Achievement Scholarships, all worth $2,500 each.

This year’s National Merit winners are seniors Laura A. Blake, Tara I. Burton and John T. Ettinger, all from New York, NY; and Anne T. Pope, from Larchmont, NY.

This year’s National Achievement Scholarship winners are seniors Safia O. Ahmed, of Washington, D.C.; Najja C. Kossally of Brooklyn, NY; and Eugerie A. Narcisse, of Rosedale, NY.

More than 1.4 million juniors from over 21,000 high schools in the United States entered the competition in 2006 with their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) scores. Earlier this year, 25 Exeter students were named National Merit Scholarship finalists. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants, representing less than one percent of the state’s seniors, were named semi-finalists. Approximately 15,000 semi-finalists were selected to advance to the finalist level—meeting very high academic standards, among other requirements—and 8,200 were awarded the ‘Merit Scholar’ title, and will receive more than $36 million in college scholarships.

Of the more than 140,000 students who initially entered the National Achievement Scholarship competition, approximately 1,600 of the highest scores were named semi-finalists; and close to 1,300 semi-finalists were selected as finalists. The selections were based on high school transcripts, PSAT/SAT scores, plans for college and course of study, overall standing and 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.