I was specifically talking about with or without prior service to the age reference.
Yes GPA is a big factor for these programs no matter the age as the average GPA of those selected hovers around 3.5
I have seen many who were IS, IT, and CT who had several years of experience who had less than 3.0 GPA's that were not picked up.
One board the program manager told me they had so many applicants everyone with a GPA less than 3.0 was declined by the board with no application review.