When to start transferring to another undergrad school?

[Lita0632]

If I'm starting my first year of college at a community college this fall (August - December) and will complete 30 credits by the end of the 2nd semester in Spring (January-May), and I want to transfer to another college (for Fall 2024), how does that work?
If most students will start applying for Fall 2024 a year ahead in Winter 2023.... and the deadline for transfer students is about 2 months after I complete my 30 credits that I want applied to my degree. Won't most of the classes I want be taken up by the other students who applied earlier?
Or are most people transferring only after the 1st semester?
Or can I apply before I have my final grades from the 2nd semester?

This is kind of the same thing for high schoolers....how do they apply in their senior year for colleges before they've finished their senior year if they don't have their final grades?

I'm a first-generation college student so sorry if the answer seems simple or obvious.

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[pazzer2]

The application deadlines for transfers is a bit later than graduating high schoolers. So you'll have the grades from your first semester of college when applying. They'll look at that, plus your HS grades to make the decision.

As far as class scheduling, most colleges that accept transfers will have a process in place so you can register for classes. You might not get the top choices, but you should be able to find classes to count towards graduation.