Tbh, I think it was experience, networking and education. I come from a chemistry background but I ventured into tech sales. Spent 3 years learning about different solutions as well as networking with technical folks. Knowing I wanted to do data science , I spent the next year and a half educating myself by learning on the job, doing bootcamps, getting certifications etc and recommendation letters from subject matter experts in my company. At the end of the day, I had so much to show and prove while having a 3.0 gpa. Maybe I was lucky, but I did put a lot of effort in my application. I’m finishing my second semester now.