. A Proof of Nerd ID by Emily Farrell What’s the difference between going to college and grad school? Definitely not lipstick. My undergraduate education at Smith College (Massachusetts) was a love affair. From the academics, to studying abroad in Paris, to the dorms, to Northampton, to the people—it was everything I dreamed of and all I could have hoped for in a college. I delighted in my double major—art history and French—and wasn’t too concerned about what kind of job I might get after graduation. I know I received the best possible education at Smith and that the school was a perfect fit for me. I remain a passionate supporter of the college, am active in my local alumnae club, and am eagerly looking forward to my 10-year reunion next spring. Last month, nine years after I took my last final and proudly received my diploma from Smith, I started graduate school. This time around it is more like an arranged marriage, one that both party’s agree to and went into with an open mind. I had had my love affair at Smith and, after graduation, flirted globally while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. So now it was a calculated move that led me to begin pursuing a master’s in public administration at University of Colorado, Denver. My husband and I have been living in Colorado for almost two-and-a-half years—with friends, jobs, and a sense of home here. I didn’t want to uproot us both for my master’s degree, only to move again after graduation. The program at UCD would give me the degree I wanted, while allowing us to keep our life and home and my husband’s work intact. I’ve been working for the federal government for the...