Is Rutgers or University of Maryland harder to get into for undergraduate admissions?

In a general sense, the University of Maryland is usually viewed as more selective for undergraduate admission than Rutgers. That is especially true for out-of-state applicants, since Maryland gives a clear advantage to in-state students and attracts a very large pool of strong applicants from the D.C. area and beyond. Rutgers is still selective, particularly for some campuses and majors, but overall it is typically a bit more accessible than Maryland.

For a student applying from outside Maryland, UMD often feels tougher because the admissions bar is higher.

Rutgers can be the more forgiving option for a student with solid academics who wants a major public research university, especially if that student is in-state for New Jersey. At the same time, Rutgers is not one single admissions experience across the board. The New Brunswick campus is the most prominent and often the most competitive.

So if you are asking for the broad comparison most people in admissions would recognize, Maryland is typically considered harder to get into than Rutgers. The biggest exception is that residency and intended major can shift the picture quite a bit, so a New Jersey student applying broadly to Rutgers may find it more attainable than Maryland, while a Maryland resident may not experience as large a gap.