Is Clemson harder to get into than Notre Dame?

Yes. Notre Dame is significantly harder to get into overall than Clemson.

For most applicants, these schools do not sit in the same selectivity tier. Notre Dame draws a national and international pool for a relatively small undergraduate class, and admission there is highly competitive across the board. Clemson is selective too, but it is not typically as difficult to enter as Notre Dame.

The student who is seriously in range for Notre Dame usually needs a very strong academic record paired with standout involvement, strong writing, and a compelling overall application. Notre Dame tends to attract applicants with top grades in rigorous courses, and because so many applicants already look strong on paper, the non-academic parts of the application matter a lot.

Clemson is a more realistic target for a broader range of strong students. A solid transcript with good course rigor can make someone competitive there without needing the same level of national-level distinction or near-flawless profile that often helps at Notre Dame. Clemson can still be tough depending on the strength of the applicant pool in a given year, but in a head-to-head comparison, Notre Dame is the much tougher admit.