Dinged last year - Looking to strengthen my profile

To be honest, there's too many strikes against you, in comparison to other applicants gunning for the top 8 schools: - low GPA - college pedigree (academically speaking, compared to a ton of applicants from Ivy/equivalent, top private/state schools, and top schools abroad who are now working in the US) - work experience an unknown quantity (more difficult to benchmark unique experience; again tons of applicants may have had startup experience, but they also did a few years at established firms, or if they didn't do that, they had strong GPAs at top schools)

Again, you have a high GMAT and a competitive/elite athlete, but banking on those two things alone to overcome the above is a tall order, especially for the top 8 schools where there are plenty of applicants who may not be quite as unique as you (i.e. not an elite athlete from North Africa) but who are a more known quantity in everything else and who have some unique aspects (even if it's not quite as unique as yours).

The thing with b-schools is this. They talk a big game about wanting leaders blah blah blah - which they do. BUT, they are also very concerned about their stats. Whether it's GMATs, incoming GPAs, employment stats, etc - because they are huge factors in the rankings game, and in terms of overall applicant interest (applicant volumes) which impact reputations over the longer term. These are often competing incentives because if you want the next Mark Zuckerberg, you'll have to take a lot more risks in the selection of applicants, eschewing these traditional measures (plus it's MUCH harder to pick out the needle in the haystack of unusual and off the beaten path folks - because for every homerun Zuckerberg you'll arguably get a ton more duds; with the traditional blue chip set, they're safer plays even if the homeruns are even more rare).

In plain English, the short-term incentives tend to win out. They want a class mostly of folks who are easily employable, regardless of what they say in their essays. They want folks who can get the jobs in banking/consulting, at more established firms like Google, Facebook, etc (and startups, buyside firms, etc who may be "small" but are staffed by folks who came from these big firms and are looking to hire folks in their own image). And with the new administration, they're also even more concerned about the employability of international students (not sure if you are). Yes, they'll showcase the token freak on their marketing materials, but if you dig a little deeper, they're not THAT unknown of a quantity either (i.e. they either went to a top college, and/or spent time however short at an established company, etc) - AND, they also tend to be American (not just citizens but those who grew up in the US). The international students tend to be more true blue corporate warriors (of any industry).

Here's what you can do:

1. Reapply to the top 8. But your chances aren't good to be honest. Even if you take a shitload of classes (doesn't matter where) to address your GPA, it doesn't completely erase your GPA, and it doesn't impact the others that you can't control (where you went to college, your work experience to date - yes, like many applicants you'll likely ask "what if I join XYZ tomm?" - just like taking a bunch of classes won't erase your GPA, being the new guy in the office at XYZ firm isn't going to erase years of prior work experience). Again, take those classes, reapply if you want to scratch that itch, but go in knowing that the odds are long.

2. Apply to a broader range of schools - the top 16 aren't beneath you given your background, unless you're just after pedigree for the sake of pedigree.

3. Don't bother with b-school at all. If you truly believe in yourself - that you are unique but an unknown quantity like Tim Ferriss pre-FourHourWorkWeek (say circa 2005?), then forget b-school. The beauty of business is that there is no one way to get to where you want to be. If you want to be a doctor or lawyer and don't get into grad school, you're done. But with business, you don't need an MBA. And if you really feel you're going to be truly successful in spite of your non-traditional background, then b-school may not be the right path for you. You may be the square peg in their round hole, but that doesn't mean you can't do incredibly well.

The most important thing to sort out for yourself is WHY you want to go to b-school badly. Chances are, it has nothing to do with b-school, and with something else more deep seated. And when you identify what that is, it's the first step in unlocking what is holding you back that has nothing to do with b-school at all.