So I figured that I should share my story, since I graduated with a cGPA of 2.81 and managed to get into a top ten school. It's a bit of a long read so Tl;dr at the bottom.
I graduated back in 2016 with a cGPA of 2.81. This was due to the fact that I was originally pursuing dentistry, but I wasn't passionate about it thus I wasn't really trying when it came to my coursework.
I had an epiphany after I graduated and I reflected back on what truly made me happy during my undergrad career. During those years I ran a fitness club (which I was the founding father of) and taught dozens and dozens of people the fundamentals of weightlifting. This club was quite successful, and at its peak I had over 150+ people in it! Since I realized that I wholeheartedly enjoyed working with people on a one-on-one basis, monitoring their progress, and encouraging them; I decided to pursue a career in which I would work with people in such a way. So I shadowed both PT's and personal trainers and ultimately decided on physical therapy.
I knew my cGPA was laughable, and that I didn't have much of a chance of getting accepted to PT school with a sub 3.0 cGPA. So for two years I retook most of my prerequisite courses and aimed for grades of no less than an A. Seriously, this is what you have to do with a subpar GPA. You have to prove to adcom that you have what it takes to thrive in PT school. You cannot settle for a B, not even an A-.
And that's what I did. For two years I retook many prereqs and earned straight A's. During that time I shadowed PTs in both inpatient and outpatient. I had about 100+ hours by the time I applied.
For employment, I work with people with developmental disabilities and so I gained even more experience in working with people. This job helped me acquire the ability to communicate with people who are non-verbal. A useful skill to have as a future Physical Therapist.
In regards to the GRE, I studied my butt of for the verbal section; and in the end I must've learned about 800 new vocabulary words. Unfortunately I think I focused too much on this section, as I didn't really grasp the math. Fortunately, my verbal score was somewhat able to overshadow my quantitative score.
When it was time for me to apply, I knew that I had to be strategic and only apply to schools that I had the best chance of being accepted to. So instead of shotgunning it and applying to 10+ schools, I limited my applications to 3 schools. MGH IHP, Shenandoah University, and The University of New England. These programs focus more on your prereq GPA and also take the highest grade (as opposed to most programs that average retaken courses.)
I made sure to make the strongest personal statement essay + school specific essays that I could. I must've worked on these for over 3 weeks straight. I emphasized my leadership abilities, my interpersonal skills, and my ability to work with a diverse group. I made sure to focus on my fitness club and my current field of work. After reading my essays, you could literally feel my passion emanating from the page. I believe these essays, coupled with my flawless postbacc work, was the reason I got accepted to PT school.
So here are the stats that got me into PT school:
cGPA: 3.03 (after 2 years of retaking courses.)
pGPA: 3.70-3.80
GRE: 157 V, 148 Q, 4.0 AWA
Extracurriculars: Founding father of my UNI's first fitness club. Taught many people the fundamentals of weightlifting. Worked at the Women's Resource Center at my UNI. Work with people with developmental disabilities for over 3 years.
Volunteer Hours: 50+ hours at acute inpatient. 50+ hours in outpatient.
Certification: CPR and AED.
Applied: MGH IHP, Shenandoah University, University of New England
Interview/Open House: MGH IHP (12/1), Shenandoah University (12/18)
Acceptance: MGH IHP (12/17)
Waitlist: Shenandoah University (12/20)
Attending: MGH IHP with scholarship!!!!!! 
So there you have it. Don't let your cGPA discourage you. As long as you're diligent and can make your application stand out against competition, you too can get accepted to physical therapy school!
🙂
Tl;dr: Had low cGPA in 2016. Retook most prereqs. Applied only to schools that considered pGPA and took the highest grade for retakes. Made sure to get relevant experience and highlight it in my essays. Got accepted with scholarship to a top ten program.
EDIT. Grammar and typos.
