*Selectivity* only came to signify a college's *quality* in the past 50 years. “The rankings created a playing field that didn’t exist before” Over decades, the rankings narrowed the view of seniors to focus on just a handful of schools. And in turn, the standards also sent a message to college leaders about what they should prioritize. Prospective students are too often blinded by prestige and fail to take an inventory during their search about what they really want out of college. As Tiggle advised his students, just because you’ve never heard of a school doesn’t mean it isn’t good. By starting the search at the widest part of the funnel with enough time to narrow it, students and their families sometimes end up embracing an idea that was foreign to them when they started: that there is life beyond the elite, prestigious, brand-name schools. “People knowing a college or not knowing them doesn’t contribute to their goodness as much as you think,” [[The search for college is often ill-informed & biased]] -- blinded by brands => [[Broaden your college search and don't just focus on the first page of US News]]