Last summer, I wrote a lot about Georgetown.

I have a horrible habit of becoming extremely attached to the first thing I come across within a category. In the case of international relations master's programs, this was Georgetown.

But I've had a lot of downtime at work this summer, which I've used to research grad schools in more depth. When I was researching colleges for undergrad, I focused primarily on finding schools that felt right. Aside from that invisible "it" factor that draws you to a place and tells you that you will be happy there, I had three other criteria: the school had to have a decent poli sci/IR department, it couldn't be all female, and it had to be north of the Mason-Dixon line.

It wasn't the most orthodox strategy, perhaps, but so far it seems to have worked. So I momentarily let go of my love for Georgetown, applied the same criteria to grad schools, and started again.

While I still like Georgetown (and starting my sentences with conjunctions), I'm no longer sure that it's the best fit for me.

So, here is a new list:

Grad schools to which I am definitely applying:

George Washington

King's College London

Tufts

Grad schools to which I might apply:

Columbia (this would be on the "definitely" list if only it didn't cost so much)

Georgetown

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva

Johns Hopkins

Oxford

University of Chicago

University of St. Andrews