Thanks for sharing your profile @pc343 ! You have relevant functional experience for Brand Management (category work + GTM & senior analyst work at an F500 CPG), which can be valuable for your target schools. Your 2 main weak spots are the undergrad GPA (2.9) and a GRE 324 that is below median for the top programs; both are fixable, but you must demonstrate academic readiness (strong retake + recent coursework) and a focused narrative converting your category/strategy work into brand leadership potential. You can take a look at this LOW GPA blog. You can also check out this success story of an applicant who got into Ross and Booth with a 319 GRE score.

What to emphasize:
Direct relevance to brand management: category analytics + GTM strategy is exactly the type of pre-MBA experience that marketing/brand roles value. Quantify your impact (sales lift %, SKU mix improvements, incremental $ from promotions, elasticity insights you drove).

Leadership & scope: Highlight cross-functional influence (worked with sales, retail, agency, supply chain), ownership of decisions, and any direct mentorship or project leadership.

Academic remediation evidence: Schools will want to see proof you can handle rigorous MBA academics, given GPA 2.9: strong GRE (or GMAT) + recent graded coursework (quant/analytics) with A/B grades is high-impact.

Career clarity & fit, "why MBA now" > show brand roles you target, why this school (specific courses/profs/clubs), and how the MBA makes the sponsor/company transition credible.

Raising the test score into the 328-333 GRE range and completing recent graded coursework (quant/analytics/marketing) can be an effective way to move you from long-shot to competitive. (See the school profiles to compare medians.)

Strengths you should sell hard: Relevant work experience for Brand Management (category analytics > GTM strategy > senior category role at an F500). This is the precise functional pipeline top marketing recruiters want. AdTech + CPG + GTM strategy gives you analytic + commercial chops. FGLI and US citizen status a meaningful demographics and will be viewed positively in diversity & background essays; it can strengthen your “story of mobility” if you weave it into leadership and resilience narratives. Public service/mentorship: sustained, meaningful extracurriculars are good evidence of values and leadership outside work.

Tighten your career narrative. You can convert category/analytics work into brand impact stories: show occasions where you shaped brand strategy, not just execution (assortment strategy, pricing tactics that shifted share, shopper insights that led to marketing changes). Prepare 3-4 STAR stories focusing on leadership, customer/retailer influence, and strategic insight. LORs: One manager who can speak to promotability, leadership, and concrete business impact. Another can be a cross-functional partner (like Brand Director, Sales Lead, or GTM boss) who can speak to your strategic thinking and influence.

Targeted outreach to brand management alums and students at each school. Ask specific questions about courses/clubs that helped them break into brand roles, and one concrete piece of advice you can quote in an essay. Attend admitted-student events, industry treks, and relevant club events to show demonstrated interest. If you attend an official event, include a one-sentence update in a short “update/interest” message to the adcom later (don’t spam).

Draft school-specific essays (Why Booth? Why Kellogg? Why Tuck?) with explicit references to programs, clubs, courses, and recruiter outcomes relevant to brand management.

We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

You can register for our Upcoming ESSAY WORKSHOP on Tuck, NYU & Yale. Craft essays that shine: pick powerful stories, match your goals with each school, and showcase authentic leadership. CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond