literature

Yeah... the way I see it is that, basically, someone with a master’s is just objectively more competitive because they have more training and more knowledge. It’s harder to justify rejecting someone from a (good and/or funded) master’s program in favor of a student straight out of undergrad, especially with fewer spots being available. 

thank you! yes, i am in a master's now. that sucks if admissions are moving toward admitting fewer ppl with just a BA, it becomes another barrier to entry considering how hard it can be to come across funded master's.... 
it's hard to figure out a pattern from current grad student profiles, since not everyone includes year of entry and previous education, but from what i could suss out last year Harvard Comp Lit took at least one person straight out of undergrad and one person with an MFA (fwiw!). cornell has a few points in their FAQs about how they assess MA/non-MA applicants, and i once heard from a prof that adcoms look at master's differently depending on if they're funded or self-paid--anyway, like anything in grad cafe this is just guesswork and hearsay.

I applied to Harvard too. It seems like they're late this year.

Thanks! I forgot to answer the other part of your post. From what I gathered from professors I talked to, the Dartmouth program seems to be prestigious and well-known, and is considered a sort of “feeder school” for the best PhD programs, since many of its alumni end up at prestigious institutions to continue their studies.
I think if I get into a PhD, it’s hard for me to take the MA offer just because I see the MA as a sort of preparation for a PhD. Otherwise, I would not hesitate to go: the professors are amazing, and so are the resources.