How to Assess a Graduate School Good morning, everyone. I guess some of you may have already started thinking about further study overseas after graduation. But few people would thoroughly consider all of the aspects of a graduate school before application. The criteria I am going to talk about today can help spur your thinking about choosing a proper school. Of course, the most important criteria will depend upon your specific needs. But, there are also several general criteria to follow. First guideline is reputation. Is the graduate school considered one of the best graduate schools in the country? Is it highly regarded in your chosen specialty? In most cases, people would like to observe the various school rankings, but my suggestion is that the school rankings should not be considered definitely.