Sounds like you haven't spent much time in aviation. Perhaps going out and getting more of time in the aviation environment would benefit you. If somebody has a private pilot license, it shows that they have proven that they can perform aircraft operations to a certain standard. There is a lot of value in going out and doing flight training prior to applying for SNA. The only variable is "how did one spend those flight hours?". Did they just go sit right seat with their cfi buddy who can log them hours or were they following a syllabus with a goal of getting a PPL? I believe for that reason, the Navy puts little weight on flight hours. Many things are the same whether you're flying a "motorize kite" Cessna or you are flying an F-15. You might have aced that paper test and be a terrible stick, or have abnormal reactions to stress in the cockpit, or get air sick from "minor" g forces. Being familiar with the environment already will have a major impact on one's success. Fundamentals like Bernoulli's principle, weather, navigation fundamentals are all very similar and prior knowledge will help one excel in flight training. When one is in the "firehouse of knowledge" environment like encountered at SNA training, one will be able to process more new information since they are already able to correlate the main aviation principles.
