Differences between listed and actual acceptance rates?

Was looking up Redlands University and found different acceptance rates on different sites. Looking to clear up the confusion - how accurate are these rates usually, and do they differ between early decision, regular decision, and transfer students?

While most colleges publicly disclose their acceptance rates, these rates don't always align perfectly across different websites due to different reporting styles and time frames. Acceptance rates can vary dramatically based on whether a student applies early decision, regular decision, or as a transfer, as well as based on the specific year and application cycle.

Therefore, here are some factors that can influence how acceptance rates are reported.

Timing and Data Collection: Websites often use information that's publicly available, such as statistics from the previous year. But college admission criteria and applicant pools can change from year to year, which could cause the acceptance rate to fluctuate.

Reporting Style: Some sources may only report the general acceptance rate, while others might break it down into categories like early decision and regular decision. Early decision acceptance rates are almost always higher than regular decision rates because colleges like to fill a portion of their class with students who have committed to attending.

Transfer Admission: Transfer acceptance rates are typically separate from first-year acceptance rates and are often considerably different. This is because transfer admission can be more or less competitive than first-year admission, depending on the school and the number of available spots.

In conclusion, while acceptance rate can provide a general idea of a college's selectivity, it's not the sole determinant of whether you'll get in. Each application is reviewed holistically, taking into account factors like GPA, test scores, essays, and extracurricular activities. This means that even if you're applying to a school with a low acceptance rate, a strong application could still win you a spot.