<p>The big football/ basketball schools are much better known than many schools in the top 30 according to US News. I guarantee that more people know about University of Oregon or University of Georgia than Emory even though Emory probably provides a stronger academic environment. </p>
<p>There are also some excellent schools with relatively high acceptance rates that are well known to a certain swath of academics or people who need to know about these things, but are relatively unknown to the general public. Case Western Reserve University and Brandies both fit that mold.</p>