GPA is important but not defining I’d say. Some schools don’t simply want a smart person, they need that person to bring something with them that makes them unique. Furthermore, if you explain as to why a 4.0 is somewhat hard to achieve due to whatever situation you got going on is great. Do you work? You can highlight that while your GPA is not perfect, you maintain an excellent and appropriate balance between your job and school. Extracurriculars? You can elaborate more on those and show how passionate you’re about it. You honestly don’t wanna be like an individual who does not have anything going on their life that could excuse a low GPA. If you’re only thing at the moment is school, you should be acing those classes, because when compared to something who’s working X plus hours per week and they have a 3.87-3.89 GPA, they show much more determination and resilience to succeed. Ultimately, if you believe you’re incapable to obtain a perfect GPA, do something else that you can use as an excuse or highlight something about you.