Each department has a slightly different requirement for minimum GPA. It is the overall but all your classes must have no Cs. I think it is important to have good grades at the beginning and through the middle of the year when they evaluate your grades since you need to submit your grades for the first semester and submit your mid-term grades on the second semester. My son ended up with one C after he was admitted for transfer, they kept him-but he had good grades until his final exam because he got sick. His GPA was 3.3. He is now actually doing better in Cornell then his old college! Go figure.