According to the student pilot, he was returning to the airport from a local solo flight in a Cessna 172. He reported that air traffic control (ATC) instructed him to enter midfield right downwind for runway 7 right and maintain altitude at 1,500 feet mean sea level (MSL), and that ATC would inform him when to turn base. After flying an "extended downwind," the pilot was told to turn base and begin descending. While on the final leg of the approach, the airplane's altitude was 1,000 feet MSL and airspeed was 105 knots. The pilot "reduced throttle all the way to idle and continued descending rapidly." During the landing flare, the pilot "pitched the nose up a bit too much," but concerned about the amount of runway remaining, he "pitched the nose down too much" to correct. The airplane impacted the runway on the nose landing gear, and bounced "three to four more times" while "drifting" away from the runway centerline. The airplane veered off the runway, where the pilot was able to regain control. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall during the landing. The pilot did not report any abnormalities with the performance or handling of the airplane.