UCLA Mock Trial, Research, and Pre-med?

Hey all,

So I’m a pre-med student at UCLA and have been worrying about the lack of ECs in my college career. I am about to be a third year and have already been rejected from 3 internships from various programs at UCLA.My GPA is in between a 3.0-3.5 but I plan on increasing that GPA as the quarters go on. I have been trying to get into a research lab at UCLA as an undergrad, but I am not sure where to start. Do I just email a professor to show my interest in their work? Also, how much does my gpa matter when trying to get into research as an undergrad at UCLA? I would like to think that my GPA would not prevent me from being able to do research but considering how competitive it all is, I need to know the truth. So how do I exactly get into research? I also don’t have much ECs besides volunteering at a hospital, and I was hoping to try out for the UCLA Mock Trial team as I am really interested in it. Does anyone have any idea how Mock Trial would work for a newbie like me, like how big is the time commitments (I am a bit worried about it since I am a struggling pre-med)? Also, would being with the UCLA Mock Trial look good for med school? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.