10 Comments That Made Us LOL In 2015

“As to what you learned in business school, and being a jerk, hmmmmm . . . “

Sandy Kreisberg is an institution at Poets&Quants. Beloved by readers for his insider’s view on business school admissions, he’s a former communications director for the MIT Sloan School of Management, and founder of HBSGuru admissions consulting. Known mainly on our site for his MBA handicapping, he also helps produce a “ding report” highlighting the admissions travails of aspirants to elite B-schools. Sadly, trolls have infested the commentary on Kreisberg’s latest contribution, a ding report on Harvard Business School and the Stanford GSB. “Did you ever go to business school?” asks “AugustineThomas” of Kreisberg. “One of the first things they teach you is that coming off like a miserable jerk won’t help you be influential. (That piece of advice is free–I won’t even try to charge you a consulting fee for it.)” Kreisberg, who has not gone to B-school but is regularly quoted on B-school admissions by major media that have included the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Economist, bites back: “Jerk is arguable,” Kreisberg writes, “miserable, come on? You are just pasting phrases together. Like many people who have a skill and practice it, I am far from miserable. Moving right along, what does this have to (do with) my advice . . .? As to what you learned in business school, and being a jerk, hmmmmm, this is perhaps (a) more refined and balanced version of that.”

“Why we NEED to look to other countries for additional talent.”

For MBAs from foreign lands, the work-visa problem looms ever more intractable, now that their most widely used permission slip – the H1-B visa – has slipped into the turbulent abyss of immigration politics. Naturally, discussion on the issue also slid into the political… and stayed there, with argument raging back through history to the conquest of Native Americans. One commenter, after revealing anti-immigration beliefs earlier in the thread, touts “Trump/Coulter 2016,” drawing a response in keeping with the subject of the story: “The fact that 24% of Americans actually think Trump would make a good president,” writes “Justified721,” “serves as the perfect example for why we NEED to look to other countries for additional talent.”

“Let me dig that up for you and get back to you.”

Citing the existence of a statistic then failing to produce it won’t get a person far in most arguments. One reader tries it – claiming that some (imaginary) data shows people who reject offers from Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, and the Wharton School (HSW) all go to Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business or Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management – both “by far” the best B-schools in the world. “There is a statistic,” claims the reader, whose nickname appears to be (yikes, not again!) a homophobic slur. With no statistic forthcoming, another reader of this story on the U.S. News MBA ranking fights fire with fire. “No, Duke is the best business school in the world, and there is a statistic that all of the people who deny HSW have chosen Duke,” writes “Anthony.” “Let me dig that up for you and get back to you. But trust me on this one.”

“This site deserves a better class of troll.” 

Here at Poets&Quants, we like to think we’re a cut above our competition, and we were entertained and gratified by the validation a reader posting as “guest” provided in commenting on our story about the Bloomberg BusinessWeek MBA ranking. Another reader, “Wharton Sucks,” had lived up to his moniker with the assertion that “Wharton students absolutely HATE their school… It means that Wharton does not deliver what it promises.” Reader “guest” noted the dissonance between the dull-minded disingenuousness of the comment and Poets&Quants‘ oh-so-refined content. “Come on,” guest writes, “this site deserves a better class of troll. Weak effort: C-.” Thanks, guest, we think so, too. 

“I graduated from Hult Boston in 2012…”

Hult International Business School runs a stupendous sales and marketing machine. From boiler rooms around the world, sales calls are made to would-be MBAs, touting the school’s program. School “ambassadors” roam the internet, seeding websites and discussion boards with pro-Hult messaging. This year, Hult fell out of the Financial Times global MBA ranking, its first absence from the list in seven years. Commenting on our story about Hult’s disappearance from the ranking, reader “madeamistake” didn’t mince words: “I graduated from Hult Boston in 2012,” madeamistake claims. “I want to kill myself.”

“Somewhat similar to the Chevy Volt.”

Build it, and they will come. Actually, they may not, but no matter – the stage is set for an unforeseeable future. Reader “C. Taylor” is not alone in disparaging online MBA programs, but he drew an interesting and laugh-worthy analogy after opening up our story on the Princeton Review’s 2015 ranking of online MBA programs. “The point of current online MBA rankings might be more to establish ranking brand – for a future when they will matter – than to actually serve a purpose,” C. Taylor writes. “Somewhat similar to the Chevy Volt.” Now, that’s a shocking comment!

DON’T MISS: TOP TEN MOST VIEWED BUSINESS SCHOOL STORIES OF 2015; TOP 10 SCANDALS & CONTROVERSIES OF 2015