To say how a school will weigh your gpa against other applicants is pure speculation because you don't know how competitive this application cycle is going to be, or what the schools will be looking at this year. Each school is different.
However, I do want to say that people with high gpa's/pcat scores have a better chance of getting a interview than people with borderline gpa's/pcat scores. Also with regards to interviews, how early you are offered a interview spot will greatly affect your chances of getting accepted or rejected, that is why people say apply early (even if the school isn't rolling admissions), is so you can get first dibs at interview dates, and guess who gets those spots first (people who apply first w/ competitive gpa's). The longer you procrastinate, the more people who apply (who may have better gpa's than you), and your chances of getting a interview just got worse. Schools will then score you right after your interview, and wait til the interview dates are over before giving out acceptance/rejection letters. However, MANY schools will offer spots right away to the people who shine during the interview process (i.e. within one to two weeks), and again that lowers the availability of seats (hence chances of getting accepted) to those waiting to get interviewed.
If the OP can score a interview then he is on pretty much equal footing with the people with high gpa's. The interview is where a person with a 3.0 gpa can really shine, and where a person with a 4.0 gpa can royally screw up.
Here is the thing with Cali schools. Many don't look at pcat scores, and they focus purely on your gpa when they are giving out interview spots. That is why it is extremely hard for a person with a 3.0 gpa to get into a cali school. Its not that they don't have a chance, its just really slim for them to score a interview spot in the first place. No interview, means no chance of getting accepted. Sure you hear about the guy with a 3.0 gpa that got in, but his EC's/work experience/LOR are spectacular that schools can't ignore that applicant.
To the OP: apply at a few cali schools, but to maximize your chances you will definitely have to look at out of state schools, which means you will have to take the pcat, so you will be not only eligible to apply to those schools that require it, but it gives them something else to look at when they are deciding to give you that interview spot. Once you get that interview, you can blow them away with your EC and work experience.
To everybody else: do the best you can to sell yourself on paper and in the interview. If you get a interview, it means your gpa/pcat is good enough. If you don't get a interview, you will know what to work on next year. If you get a interview, and you get rejected, it means you screwed up your interview, and usually has nothing to do with your grades.
Good luck to those applying this year.
