A Brookland-Cayce High School student has earned a National Merit Scholarship.

Senior David Hoffman was named a winner of the prestigious scholarship. Winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Hoffman plans to attend the University of South Carolina and has been offered a National Merit Scholarship for USC.

The National Merit Scholarship Program begins when high school juniors take the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. In the fall, the highest-scoring participants from an initial field of roughly 50,000 nationwide are named among 16,000 semifinalists. From there, over 15,000 students meeting the very high academic standards and other requirements advance to the finalist level of the competition.

Of those, about 7,500 are selected to receive a Merit Scholarship award. In addition to the PSAT/NMSQT, other criteria in selection of winners includes academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; essay; and a recommendation written by a high school official.