Based on my observations:
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I don’t know which one is more common (I’d guess after sophomore year), but many colleges seem to have a better defined process/pathway for rising juniors transfers.
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SAT is less important for sophomore transfers (vs freshman applicants) and not considered AFAIK for junior transfers.
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This needs careful research, as each school has specific (and different requirements) based on major. Best to check with each school. Example for Georgia Tech: Transfer Course Requirements | Undergraduate Admission
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A sophomore transfer application is largely based on the HS record because the student has completed only 1 college semester. The 2nd semester grades will be sent later (post acceptance and enrollment) after the semester is over.
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A few things come to mind:
- a college may not accept certain courses credits requiring a student to retake classes. This can, in some cases, extend the graduation date.
- some schools like Michigan will reject a junior transfer candidate who has accumulated too many credits, because they think it’s not the in the best interest of the student to transfer. So, need to hit the sweet spot where you have enough transferable credits but not too many.
- I think there are only 3 valid reasons to transfer. a) there are special circumstances due to which a student cannot continue at their current school b) a change in financial circumstances requires transferring to a cheaper school c) compelling academic reasons. The student needs to be able to articulate this reason in their essay. I know students who were looking to transfer simply to chase rank/prestige, and they weren’t successful.