<p>CA is very competitive. Consider there are 53 congressional districts plus the 2 senators. Assuming that each MOC has only one opening this year, there can be a total of 550 noms per SA (combined all MOC districts). CA Senators coordinate amongst themselves and the reps, when possible, so as to give noms to as many as possible. Similarly, reps in CA frequently do not provide a nom to more than one SA to the same candidate … (though it does happen). Most MOCs in CA ask that candidates rank the SAs by preference…</p>
<p>A MOC district that I am familiar with receives 45-50 applicants a year for all SA’s, typically nearly equally mixed between the SA’s - though our district has only had one USMMA applicant in over 10 years and though she got an appointment, she elected to go to USNA instead. I am aware of some MOC districts within CA that get closer to 100 applicants a year. The Senators each get around 1000. It is reasonable to assume a large number of candidates applied to both Senators so there are not likely to be 2000 different applicants to the Senators. Similarly, it is my understanding that a large number of candidates do not apply to the CA Senators because they think odds are slim. I have no idea how many total applicants come from CA. However, the real issue is not how competitive CA is but rather how competitive your specific MOC district is.</p>