I've gone through all the replies to your initial post and have decided to put you straight (none of them did this). Comparing aston and sheffield to cranfield is like comparing oranges to apples. They are not in the same league, Cranfield is a world renowned research institution and the school of management is in the top 50 in the world (this represents top 0.5% in world, as there are over 10,000 business schools worldwide.) I would post some links that will help you in making a decision.

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/european-business-school-rankings

The FT ranks cranfield as 13th amongst european business school. Take into consideration that most rankings are done with just the MBA courses (all schools do MBA's and some don't do Msc's) so its a good way to rank them across all borders. This ranking looks at the business school as a whole and ranks them according to more criterias which may have been left out when ranking just MBAs.

Nevertheless, FT ranks cranfield as 35th in the world (MBA ranking).

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings

The economist intelligence unit ranks cranfield as 13th in the world (MBA) ranking. Please take a look at schools, that place after cranfield in this ranking.

http://mba.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=2008rankings

Basically, what I'm saying is that Cranfield is in a league that only a few universities in the UK play in, those are the likes of Cambridge, Oxford, Lancaster, Manchester and LBS,  and then you have the likes of warwick, cass and imperial treading along shortly behind. Cranfield, has quite a number of faculty leaving these universities to come to Cranfield to become part of a world renowned faculty,

These are your options, read for the GMAT and make that good score that will get you into Cranfield or go to sheffield or aston and play in the minor leagues. I believe you will choose the first, as you sound like a smart guy and want the best for yourself. The marketing MSc in Cranfield is quite new but is very up to date. They get to do exciting projects with companies (hands on experience).


Lastly, I will say if your looking to have fun while you pursue an MSc, then Cranfield is not for you. Cranfield is known to be tough and to keep it's students on their feet all year round. I personally know students in oxford, cambridge and imperial and nothing compares to what Cranfield will put you through (don't be scared, everyman needs a little challenge now and then).


PS: I'm currently a student in Cranfield (Msc Finance and management), so I may be biased to the Brand. Nevertheless, I speak the truth (backed by evidence). Gotta run, working on a paper,.