Having been through this rigamarole, I can understand what you are going through. I believe the US News could be the right sarting point. Once you start doing searches online/offline and talking with people in the field, you will definitely get firmer idea which program you want to join. Yes, I agree, the school ranking does matter. By school ranking, I mean departmental ranking. In grad school scenario, you could have an excellent name brand university but with a lousy department that everybody avoids, and vice versa. So looking up who the professors are is absolutely essential, as one of them could potentially be your advisor who plays a pivotal role in your career, both during and after grad school. If you are looking into Econometrics, I know PennState had a very solid and well known group of professors in that field. But that was almost a decade ago. I have also heard that Simon Frasier University in Canada is outstanding in Econometrics. University of Chicago is definitely the premiere institution to look at, especially if you are considering a career in International Development. Quite a few of my friends in World Bank were former residents of Hyde Park (UofC's location). Anyway, it is an exciting phase you are in. Enjoy the process while you can, once you are in, you will have hardly any time to smell the roses for next five years.