A lower GPA is usually most dangerous at the screening stage because recruiters have limited time and need evidence of academic and analytical ability. The further your GPA sits below the normal range for your school, the stronger the other evidence needs to be.

Strong internships and leadership help because they show achievement in other settings, but they do not literally erase the GPA. Think in terms of building enough positive signals that the recruiter still wants to test you.

If the academic record is your main weakness, spend less time worrying about how to explain it and more time improving the application around it. This article on consulting applications with a low GPA gives a useful way to think about that tradeoff.

Screening risk is the way I'd think about it. If you make it to interviews you have a chance to show much stronger current evidence.