Sometimes, mere location offers a student a geographical advantage. For example, Stanford might be more inclined to take a student from Arkansas who looked academically similar to a California student, simply for reasons of diversity. Maryland, however, is not one of those states which might have trouble rounding up numbers of reasonable applicants for Stanford, so you will still have to compete with students who have not only the ice cream, the hot fudge, and the toasted almonds, and the cherry, but the marshmallow fluff as well. If you earned your grades with adventurous course choices, your transcript may be regarded as superior to another student's 3.9. Similarly, if you can show serious,consistent commitment of time to productive activity, the university might recognize that you made the right decision in sacrificing a few inconsequential points for some really important contributions to your school or your community.
Letters of recommendation are also critical.
Well, if you are applying to Stanford, I'm sure you can finish the analogy. Anyway, your GPA will not disqualify you instantly, and I'm sure your application will be given thorough consideration. If you spent as much time on your essays as you have spent worrying about this, I'm sure the admissions committee will have some lively deliberations on their hands.