Select the most appropriate synonym for the highlighted word.
There were a plethora of options available to the applicant.

The word plethora means a large or excessive amount of something.
Looking at the options:

destructive: Causing great and irreparable damage.

recess: A temporary break between periods of work or sessions.

excess: An amount of something that is more than necessary, permitted, or desirable.

insufficient: Not enough; inadequate.

Therefore, excess is the closest synonym.