Is the University of Michigan or Dartmouth harder to get into?

Dartmouth is harder to get into than the University of Michigan. Dartmouth is one of the Ivy League schools and is markedly more selective overall, while Michigan, though highly competitive, admits a broader range of students across a much larger undergraduate population. For most applicants, especially in a straight head-to-head comparison, Dartmouth is the tougher admit.

One concrete reason is the applicant pool each school is evaluating. Dartmouth is a smaller private college with a national and international applicant base competing for a relatively small freshman class, which makes each spot especially scarce. Michigan also attracts huge interest, but it enrolls a much larger class and has more room overall.

Another big differentiator is residency. Michigan is a public flagship, so admissions can look different for in-state and out-of-state applicants, and in-state students often have a somewhat clearer path than applicants coming from outside Michigan. Dartmouth does not have that public-school residency structure, so everyone is competing in a single very selective private-school process.

The academic and extracurricular bar also tends to be narrower at Dartmouth. Both schools attract strong students, but Dartmouth’s pool is packed with applicants who already have top grades, rigorous coursework, and high-level activities, so standing out is especially difficult. Michigan is still absolutely a reach for many students, just not usually at the same level of selectivity as Dartmouth.