How does the transfer system work

Hi
I’m going to be college Freshman soon.
I’m planning to transfer another school as undergrad.
Hopefully fall 2019.
I wonder when do people usually start the application process?
How long does it usually take to get decisions?

Are you a freshman?

You start the application process depending on what semester you want to transfer. A school’s website should have a section for transfers with instructions on how to submit the application. Decision dates should be on the school website, as well.

Is this much more competitive than the Freshman admission? Just curious

It depends on the college, but typically it is easier. However, it’s more difficult to get FA as a transfer.

You can find when applications open, close, and the various requirements and steps one must take on the target schools website.

Most schools generally have later deadlines for transfer applications than freshman, but not always. A school with a 1/1 deadline might have a 3/1 deadline for example, but that’s not always the case. Same with decisions, some may admit on a rolling basis for transfers and some do not notify until June.

I think generally speaking, the majority of the private schools I looked into applying to for transfer had deadlines in February-April for applications and I would have been notified in May-June.

I would identify transfer requirements for all of your target schools ASAP, in case there are things like general education requirements or LORs that you must take care of at your current institution.

I guess prolly the GPA matters most

Bingo. You also want to see if your credits will transfer.

Do I also need to hand in HS transcript

It depends on the college and how soon you transfer. Sometimes, colleges want to see a HS transcript from a student who transfers after one year. The required documents should be on the website.