Hi everybody.
I'm sure this has come up before but I struggle to find info on Aston. George did a fantastic job in outlining the advantages of Durham and I can sign off on all of his arguments. However, Aston did quite well in the Economist 2010 comparison and their job placement rate is fairly high.
I think they are both very close and it comes down to

1) Quality of online material (effectiveness)
2) Structure and flexibility of curriculum

If anybody has any insights on either of them or found a link with alumni comments, I would appreciate if he/her could share this in this post.

Many thanks
cl

Hi,

You are right, Aston is a very good school.

Are you interested in the full time or distance learning program? No direct links on alumni but hope these 2 links may be of interest if you have not seen them :

http://www.f1gmat.com/business-school-profiles/aston-mba

http://www.f1gmat.com/mba-refresher-modules-aston-business-school

Hi mattbellagio,
Sorry for being unclear. I'm interesting in the distance learning MBA. The information you kindly provided looks like information provided by the school itself, which naturally paints a very nice picture. I was hoping for some ex-students, commenting on their learning experience.
I have been in contact with both schools already and must admit that both are equally friendly and helpful on the phone.
Anyways, some insights would be great.
Thanks and regards
cl

As I am doing my first term with Durham, I am very impressed by the quality of the programme. It meets all my needs - flexibility, quality/, content, technology, accredition, reputation, support and price.

Obviously, I can't comment on Aston. Any Aston students out here to share insider view?

Hi, Thanks for your input. The most incredible thing I've heard about the Aston MBA is about a student who was promoted twice at his job during his part-time MBA. And to top if all, had convinced the company to fund his time at Aston! Although Aston does offer a wide range of scholarships.

That's interesting, about the student who was promoted during his MBA.

Overall, I think Aston has a decent program, and it's triple accredited, which is nothing to scoff at. I just wonder why it disappeared from the FT rankings last year - only to show back up at #93 this year. Is it because grads have been having a harder time finding jobs? Or are post-study salaries going down? Because when you put this program up against Manchester or Warwick it doesn't look as good.

Hi, Thanks for your input. The most incredible thing I've heard about the Aston MBA is about a student who was promoted twice at his job during his part-time MBA. And to top if all, had convinced the company to fund his time at Aston! Although Aston does offer a wide range of scholarships.

I guess Aston has a lot of international students who get to get lower salaries at home - and whose predecessors got higher paying jobs in the UK when the economy was stronger.

Manchester is certainly a stronger brand. If you read through georgep's later posts, you see he started to see some wrinkles at Durham.