If I could pick a masters program after I graduate, I would go to CREOL at UCF. A Ukrainian physicist once told me its the best optics school in America. Its not that I take all my advice from men with thick Ukrainian accents, its just that if one is speaking directly to you, you listen.
I'm halfway through my EE undergrad, and I already feel well prepared to learn most anything I desire for this field as well as related ones. Heck, I got an internship at Vishay for the summer. My boss called me in for the interview because of my research experience, but I think he called me back because he wanted someone that he didn't have to teach the LASER acronym to. Now I'm laser trimming ceramic resistors for the summer. Not bad.
Being domestic to your current residence seems to help as well.