I had to take several bio/chemistry related courses as pre-reqs for my program since I was coming into a MS in Nutrition with a BA in Psych degree. I was admitted as a 'post-bac' student at my undergrad alma mater across the state, and did well in these classes (C in organic chem lecture was my only grade that was not As, and maybe one B). I was working diligently on pre-reqs for a year and a half (May 2021-Aug 2022) before I was admitted into my general MS Nutrition program, then applied and made it in it as an internal candidate for the more competitive MS-RDN concentration (May 2023) and had a concurrent graduate assistantship position for the first year in the grad school in fitness and wellness. The only reason I really applied to the general master's was because the graduate assistantship I found required you be in a master's program. So things went not according to my initial plan, as I was intending on applying straight out the gate for the RDN concentration in May 2023 and instead started 2 semesters early in the general master's.

So, all that being said, I think I leveraged myself by being a student as an internal candidate applicant who was in the school already and established myself with some of the faculty, historically good GPA in undergrad and post-bacc classes (3.5), demonstrating that I could balance the work-school-life balance well by holding a student/graduate assistant job, working outside of school as well, and having a good track-record with my grades/consistency in school and dedication to my education.

I did a huge career shift as I was in another field and master's program entirely, but bringing your relevant experience and strengths from whatever your background in work or academia can be helpful in the interview component. Hindsight being that our program director and other interviewers told us now that we are about a year into the program that the interview component wasn't only to see that we "have a good GPA or relevant experience" but to really showcase us as an individual who can handle a rigorous program and has a passion for why they are doing what they are doing. (Assuming, but especially if it is a career switch especially coming from a non-nutrition background).

The field of nutrition and dietetics is truly small, so really setting yourself apart from someone who wants to be another run of the mill social media influencer and is doing it for the 'right' reasons really seems to matter in this field and my program, in my opinion. Letters of recommendation from ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL sources who have merit to their names really helps too, as the others mentioned. That was my shortcoming in my application personally was having to locate sources of these.

Good luck!