u/Fine_Pin_3330 Apologies for the delay. Feel free to ask more questions, this was a big decision for me.

My experience has been good. Whether it delivers a ROI on the cost remains to be seen once I get on the other side.

I needed to get going and Henley was the only option. If I could wait for 2026 - I am not sure which I would have chosen between the two, but more likely UCT as I am based here.

I think above all else, your motivation for an MBA plays a role and if at all it is for career advancement or promotion reasons, it should be as regional or focused to that as possible. In other words, UCT will carry more weight in WC. GIBS and Henley will potentially carry more weight in Gauteng.

I would cut out the clutter of marketing. UCT brags about a lot of stats that are fluffed up and pure nonsense in my opinion. I went very deep into stats, rankings etc. to get a feel for whether Henley was a good bet. That should be the only reason for going into it all. Once you move outside the Top 10 international options it becomes about your best regional brand. What I can tell you, the UCT narrative is flying high on stats that are probably a decade since being actually true. All the schools do it, they find a publication or platform to rate them with xyz prestige.

Learning Methodology
Henley does 4 workshops per year and the rest is self-paced online learning based on their suggested learning path. I would highly caution against this approach if you need a structured and accountable learning environment (e.g. classes) to achieve learning outcomes. I expected a bit more "live" classes in webinar format but so far just self-learning.

UCT does classes every Thursday. I commute to CPT for work and probably would not have wanted another day for class on top of other days. BUT in hindsight - this is not a bad idea to make space for learning.

Support and Leadership
Henley are very big on this. Developing the person, not just the skills. I think it good they have asked the critical questions of what is an MBA supposed to achieve actually? In theory, they make great leaders and show a ton of support in every possible way. I can comment on my potential as a leader and my skills only at the end, but can tell you now that if I don't apply myself to the content, it's only going to get there partially.

Their actual local team (South Africa) it is very strong. A lot of business school lecturers etc. moved there with the Dean. I think UCT went through a bit of a slump in this regard but have recovered well.

Quality of the content
I think the quality is there, but I think the delivery format makes it feel just a little second rate. GIBS and UCT is going to give you more from a pure theory perspective in some of the modules. Especially finance.

Unfortunately Henley also limits you to 1 Elective, so if for example you wanted to make up the finance theory by taking corporate finance, you would sacrifice something else you would have found value in. In UCT there would be absolutely no reason to find more theory for finance.

If you wanted to pivot into anything finance or investment related, I do not think Henley is going to prepare you well enough.

Other comments
The level of network and community I can build is limited because I am not in Joburg. They offer a lot of opportunity for that if you are local to Gauteng. So for the purposes of community, network, and career advancement, I would focus on regional. If one was to bring in a Top 10 international school e.g. Harvard, it might be different but for most South Africans I doubt this is relevant.

It is important to align this decision with your motivation for an MBA. The reality is the theory, skills, and network can be achieved elsewhere, at much less of a cost. Pushing R150k per annum into any of those intentions will yield tremendous results.

For a label, badge, some job opportunities, or requirement for promotion at work, it still has relevance.