Could anyone give a small list of the best schools in the country for microbiology? I would prefer a selective school with prestige, high test scores, and a fairly liberal vibe.
Based on your stated criteria, you could cross-reference
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10
with
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/colleges-to-consider-if-you-want-to-study-biology/117/
to create a preliminary list of colleges.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/microbiology
Google search is your friend.
However, a search result for research universities will omit potentially outstanding options in the baccalaureate category.
Microbiology is a pretty basic subset of the biology major, and would be good any of the the top LACs. Amherst, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, etc.