I'm posting a reply mostly as an FYI to future searchers. There is not a lot of action on this subject publicly posted on this site.
I applied to the PAO community in FY 2014 with two slots open and was not accepted. I have about three years of professional public relations experience in NYC and good grades from a university where I earned an industry-reputable communications degree. My interviews were arranged through my OR, who was phenomenal. One was with an active duty PAO, the other, with a reservist. Both went well, near as I could tell - though I caught the hint that a civilian interviewee was a rarity.
I made the decision to only apply for PAO, primarily because I wanted to aim my references and personal statement directly at that goal. It should be noted that that was not the advice of my OR (who knew PAO was a terrific long-shot), but a decision I made. I've no idea if it worked for or against me. Maybe it just came off as arrogant - I don't know. I'd have been an average SWO, in my mind, but I believed I had something to offer as a PAO.
One of the several officers I interviewed with told me after my non-selection that making PAO from civilian is, bar-none, the toughest direct accession in the Navy. There are only a few slots a year, and only one board. Almost inevitably, there will be deserving prior-enlisted going for those slots - or other similar applicants.
It does happen; rarely. Take the Blue Angel's current PAO, LTJG Amber Lynn Daniel, for example [the following is extracted from her public bio on the Blue Angels' site, and so I feel fine in sharing here]. She graduated college in 2004 (when I was a Junior in HS). She started at a TV station, and then worked extensively for AFN (American Forces Network) and did freelance journalism. She didn't complete OCS until 2011 (when I was an intern at my current company), when she had been in her field for 7-8 years.
With candidates like that, who have huge amounts of immediately accessible and related experience, applicants similar to me are necessarily out of the running. I admit, I thought I stood something of a chance. Pulled myself up by my bootstraps (with my spouse's help) and made it in NYC, the media capitol of the world. But PAO is a lean community, and so it is necessarily selective.
Frankly, I'm just happy the community is open to civilians and that I had the experience of applying (it was closed for a long time is my understanding). From the outside-looking-in, the Navy sorely needs solid communicators of all types as fiscal and political pressures tighten. I wish them the best.
Heck...perhaps I'll apply again (probably with a few other communities tacked on this time...)
