If still trying to decide between programs. Maybe this Q&A will help with a full time MBA student from Aston:

Yes, it was very helpful !

Thanks

It is interesting to see the decline of Aston Business School in terms of MBA ranking... What exactly happened to it?

Nothing very special: just more competition, underinvestment, low brand equity and the rapid rise of the two close competitors at Birmingham and Warwick.

Nothing very special: just more competition, underinvestment, low brand equity and the rapid rise of the two close competitors at Birmingham and Warwick.

[Edited by yipkc on Nov 24, 2015]

I am sure they can fill the class even at 30k. Lots of demand.

Isn't Durham best? regarding the ranking from FT and Econo and the reputation of Durham is also best. In my opinion, Durham is the first, Birmingham is the next and aston is the last. i guess.

I think this really depends on your specific career goals. Also remember that the students are not the same. Durham, like Bath and Edinburgh, gets a lot of people from developed countries who want to study somewhere pretty. They have better outcomes and that lifts the cohort. Durham also benefits from improved careers support.

I agree that Edinburgh, Bath and Durham are all very picturesque cities. Personally, I would very much love to study there for my undergraduate level. However, given the fact an MBA is a professional degree, bigger cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester have greater advantage in terms of their strategic location so I personally would stick around in the bigger cities and try to source for future work opportunities in the city I will be studying, without having to bother myself to travel a long distance to there from a smaller city.

Well, there are lots of great business schools that get excellent placement from smaller locations: Insead, Oxbridge, HEC, IMD, Dartmouth, Cornell, Virginia, Lisbon and Warwick are all a bit out of the way but still get into the top 40 worldwide. Those smaller regional markets are much less competitive and have less access to top talent. Edinburgh is good for finance and tech. The region around Bath is good for management consulting, telecoms and retail finance. So, it depends on specific work goals.

Nothing very special: just more competition, underinvestment, low brand equity and the rapid rise of the two close competitors at Birmingham and Warwick.

[Edited by yipkc on Dec 15, 2015]

Since that is in the future, it does not explain it.