Class of 2018 College Acceptance Rates

College admissions offers are out–and despite college applications being down at some colleges, it was a tough year to get into college.

Especially if you applied to Stanford. The college accepted a record-low 5 percent of its applicants this year.

Applicants to other top colleges like Yale University, the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology didn’t have it much easier. The colleges accepted 6.3, 8 and 8 percent of applicants, respectively.

College application rates can be misleading

Keep in mind that a lower acceptance rate doesn’t necessarily mean a more competitive college.

For example, colleges that accept a lot of students Early Decision (which binds the student to the college) may end up rejecting a lot of students later on in the cycle, which can make the college appear more competitive because it has a lower overall rate.

Additionally, the number of applications has nothing to do with the actual quality of the students applying. A college may be very popular overall, but among all students, not just the top ones. And with cost being a huge concern, many students are applying to more colleges overall in order to give themselves more options and be able to compare financial aid offers.

Colleges also vary in what they consider an ‘application’–some colleges only consider completed applications, while others include applications with missing materials.

Check out the list of top colleges and their acceptance rates below, as compiled by the Washington Post.

Acceptance Rates at Top Colleges

Amherst College: 1,103 admission offers out of 8,468 applications, 13 percent.

Bowdoin College: 1,032 offers out of 6,935 apps, 15 percent.

Brown University: 2,619 offers out of 30,432 apps, 9 percent.

California Institute of Technology: 529 offers out of 6,524 apps, 8 percent.

Carleton College: 1,446 offers out of 6,293 apps, 23 percent.

Claremont McKenna College: 613 offers out of 6,043 apps, 10 percent.

Colgate University: 2,224 offers out of 8,713 apps, 26 percent.

Columbia University: 2,291 offers out of 32,967 apps, 7 percent.

Cornell University: 6,014 offers out of 43,041 apps, 14 percent.

Dartmouth College: 2,220 offers out of 19,296 apps, 12 percent.

Davidson College: 1,169 offers out of 5,558 apps, 21 percent.

Duke University: 3,499 offers out of 32,506 apps, 11 percent.

Emory University: 4,616 offers out of 17,797 apps, 26 percent.

Grinnell College: 1,626 offers out of 6,056 apps, 27 percent.

Hamilton College: 1,312 offers out of 5,071 apps, 26 percent.

Harvard University: 2,023 offers out of 34,295 apps, 6 percent.

Harvey Mudd College: 510 offers out of 3,678 apps, 14 percent. (Note: Harvey Mudd’s figures are based on what it labels “actionable” applications, meaning those that are complete enough for the college to make a decision.)

Haverford College: no figures available yet.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology:1,419 offers out of 18,357 apps, 8 percent.

Middlebury College: 1,422 offers out of 8,196 apps, 17 percent.

Northwestern University: 4,349 offers out of 33,673 apps, 13 percent.

Pomona College: 938 offers out of 7,727 apps, 12 percent.

Princeton University: 1,939 offers out of 26,641 apps, 7 percent.

Rice University: 2,498 offers out of 17,720 apps, 14 percent.

Smith College: 1,802 offers out of 4,461 apps, 40 percent.

Stanford University: 2,138 offers out of 42,167 apps, 5 percent.

Swarthmore College: 930 offers out of 5,540 apps, 17 percent.

University of California at Berkeley: no figures available until April 18.

University of Chicago: 2,304 offers out of 27,503 apps, 8 percent.

University of Notre Dame: 3,720 offers out of 17,897 apps, 21 percent.

University of Pennsylvania: 3,583 offers out of 35,868 apps, 10 percent.

U.S. Military Academy: no figures available yet.

U.S. Naval Academy: no figures available yet.

Vanderbilt University: 3634 offers out of 29,490 apps, 12 percent.

Vassar College: 1,771 offers out of 7,784 apps, 23 percent.

Washington University in St. Louis: 5,002 offers out of 29,211 apps, 17 percent.

Wellesley College: 1,330 offers out of 4,710 apps, 28 percent.

Wesleyan University: 2,199 offers out of 9,477 apps, 23 percent.

Williams College: 1,150 offers out of 6,316 apps, 18 percent.

Yale University: 1,935 offers out of 30,932 apps, 6 percent.