GMAT (09/26/2012): 570 - would like to apply round one, and my time and funds are limited at the moment so retesting would be challenging.
UG GPA: 2.96
Work Experience: 2.5 years post-grad as a manager in internet marketing (managed a team of four and oversaw work done by over twenty contractors)
Short Term Goals: Get admitted to an MBA program, get an internship at a video game/high technology company, get into a strategy planning/business development role upon graduation.
Long Term Goals: Become a leader in the business strategy and development at an eSports video game company or eSports league. From that position, work to spread eSports worldwide.
Backup Goal: Product or brand management at a video game company.
Other Info: first in family to graduate college, negotiated with previous company to work as a contractor remotely (I am in Thailand for now), promoted two times in just over a year.

Target Schools:
USC
UW
UCI
SMU

My questions/request:
USC is a dream school for me so I am going to apply despite my stats. I would run across continents and swim all of the oceans to attend USC. Is there even the slightest chance of getting admitted?

I am searching for a "safety" school in Seattle, SoCal, or Texas that are near/in a metropolitan area because these are the places where my industry is strongest. Any suggestions?

Are the schools above a good fit stat-wise, and will I be admitted to at least one of them?

Do I need to retake my GMAT, and can I improve enough to hit target scores required? I started studying September 10th and took it yesterday. I scored a 460 on my GMATP on 09/10 and got the above score on the official test 09/26.

Thanks for reading my post and any suggestions.

Might be bad news, but it's honest. Going off of what I have read and what you've told me, taking the GMAT is almost required to get into a program that I want. For me right now, it is more important to get into one of those programs so I think I will just have to apply at a later date. Thanks for the review!

Do you think I would be a competitive candidate if I raise my score up enough to apply round 2 for some of those schools? And what type of score range do you think I need to obtain to be a competitive candidate? Really appreciate your feedback!