Reed College in Portland, OR, in many ways is the "anti-ivy league." There is no Greek system. There are no varsity sports. There are no honors. And many consider it the best liberal arts school in the United States. Reed boycotted the U.S. News and World Report ranking by withholding the information the magazine needs to determine the coveted positions. The number of English and Literature Ph.D. recipients who began their academic career at Reed, though, clearly earns it a top spot. To many, the courage to break with tradition makes them the best.
Amherst College does show up in U.S. News and World Reports' rankings for top literature programs, at the top. Consistently Amherst is ranked in the top five liberal arts schools in the country. Founded in 1821, the small private college in Amherst, Massachusetts, is a world-class institution, serving a small student body of about 1,700 students.
Another small, private Massachusetts college, Williams College is known to be among the best comparative literature programs. Admissions is extremely competitive. Williams will have a surplus of applicants, all with GPAs and SAT scores among the highest percentile in the nation.
Founded in 1864, Swarthmore is thought of by many as the best U.S. college in the Quaker educational tradition. As with Amherst and Williams, it regularly shows up in the top-ten lists of best literature programs. Swarthmore's endowment is one of the largest in the country, though its admissions does not have a need-based financial factor.