Good School for English Renaissance studies Phd????

<p>My son is applying to graduate school for English Lit, specifically Renaissance studies. He has a 4.0 GPA and is a very strong writer. He has applied to
Harvard
Yale
Berkeley
Northwestern
Columbia
as his 'top choices' so far. As far as more safety schools go, he applied to
UI-Urbana
Ann-Arbor
UT Austin.
I was wondering what exactly your opinions were on the top choices (and safety schools, for that matter). Obviously they are all good schools, but what are your opinions on atmosphere, student body, professors, research opportunities, with relation to Shakespeare/Renaissance studies? I had found some threads on English studies, but not Renaissance. Thanks!</p>