Remind to everyone that less than 5% of entrants make it past the first round. You're competing against a lot of people living in LA who have already started building connections in the industry and against people who have studied screenwriting for years (either in school or independently).

Make sure you're putting your best foot forward. You're better off spending the next few months polishing off the script you're most confident in than you are grinding through the first draft of something that you'll be bumping up against the deadline trying to finish. If your script isn't ready, save your money until next year instead of rushing to turn in something subpar.