While the value of having a degree from Wharton is subject to debate, the value of thinking you have one and then discovering otherwise is becoming a lot clearer. Back in 2002, Frank Reynolds enrolled in a program at Penn called the Executive Masters in Technology Management, believing that Wharton’s co-sponsorship of the program meant he was destined for a degree from the business school. Having spent time, energy, and money on a program he thought would allow him to include the Wharton stamp in his business passport, Reynolds did the natural thing and sued the school when it became abundantly clear the only degree in his future was from the engineering school. A federal court jury agreed with his bait and switch contention and subsequently put a price tag on the mistaken belief of receiving a Wharton degree.
Reynolds is set to collect $435,678 in damages from his attempt to be an alumnus of a “top tier business school”. Which should help cover the costs from the institution that awarded him an MBA in 2006, MIT.
Putting a price on Wharton’s prestige [Philly.com]
Suck on my jury’s award, bitches!
the guy has balls!
Can I sue my top tier business school for the fact that my investment bank went under and that I’m currently under-employed?
At the very least, can I get my class gift money back to help pay for the interest on my absurd amount of student loans?
Frank Reynolds, Philly/Wharton….Was it danny Devito?
@2 Greg has balls? No he doesn’t.
LOL…$345678 in damages. They just made that number up.
“I want $12345678 in damages! But I’ll settle for $987654! “
Greg -
I am going to bait and switch you into fuckin oblivion.
CG
and yes, i realize it says 435678. I told a white lie for rhetorical purposes.
wouldn’t that be the value of an MBA from MIT ace?
Greg,
I am going to bait a hook with you and throw you over the side of my Boston whaler as a troll the waters off Long Island.
Gaspafisherman
Greg -
I tried to bait and switch you at the hospital when you were born. The nurses tied a dirty diaper over your head to prevent me from pulling it off.
Love,
Mom
not getting an MBA / Not getting a CFA?
discuss.
this is the best line in teh article:
“At the time, Reynolds was running a small consulting company and hoping to burnish an already long list of academic accomplishments: a bachelor’s in marketing from Rider University, a master’s in psychology from Chestnut Hill College, an M.B.A. from St. Joseph’s University, and a master’s in e-business from Temple University.”
sometimes I wonder if keith hahn is sitting back and laughing in obscurity…
I am Hoftsra.
I am me.
Greg,
You should stick to writing life alert spots.
C.E. Koop
So basically, he’s smart enough to get an engineering degree from Wharton, but too unaware of his surroundings to realize it was not from the business school. Someone brand the word “Quant” into this guy’s forehead please.
Rumors rumors rumors. This world is all about gossip and innuendo, until you talk about the job DK’s horsecock did on Greg’s anus. Oh no no you can’t post about that. That’s off limits. For example, how Greg’s butt was once tight enough to make a “brrrrrttt” sound when he farted. Now it’s so loose that the only time it makes that sound is when DK is pounding it. prrrrrtt prrrttt prrrrttt. “Ooooh DK you bastard, your writing and grammar suck but you sure know how to work this blanus”
@16 FTW
@14 He went Hollywood…
This is going to be pretty pricey for Penn, since now *every* person who they sold one of these “Executive Masters in Technology Management” to will be presenting their invoice for $435,678. And I suspect there were other similar programs that sprayed Wharton’s name and logo all over their advertising and admissions materials, and a good percentage of graduates of those programs are probably smart enough to figure out that this applies to them too.
Greg,
Don’t tell me you went to Penn when you went to Penn State.
Grandma Micheals
@4, Hey kids, I’m gonna paint your room in a color that isn’t stupid, and then throw all your toys in the trash!
I remember Penn did a study that showed Wharton undergrads make less than the liberal arts students 10-15 years out. The two undergrad programs have the same cost, so the relative “value” of the degree could be said to be negative.
@24, see, that’s what happens when liberal arts types try their hand at conducting statistical studies.
Mark Klein, M.D. would have told this guy up front to save his money and go for a Liberal Arts degree at some hack ass in-state sattelite school. Compounding the interest on the money he would have saved would have made him an ass load of cash packing man by now. If all of us just listened to Mark Klein, M.D., we’d all be happy, we’d all be free!
@24 obviously this is b/c so many Lib Arts grads go to medical and law school. Not apples to apples at all.
1)Greg, please ban Doo Lee (spammer of unfunny bullshit on every thread). It’s not like you have anything better to do on a Tuesday afternoon.
2) This is actually a fairly succinct and amusing Greg post. Good one.
@21
They’ve got (or had) a similar undergrad program, too.
@24- Much cheaper to make those degrees Wharton degrees retroactively. Kind of like a Latin American country revving up the printing press to get out of debt.
Sorry, meant to reference @21. So close and yet so far.
Greg,
CONGRATS! You got a post w/ 20+ comments. Guess what? we’re going to Dennys tonight! Do you mind if I bring my buddy? He’s got some sweet tats and a cool nickname, “50 Cent”.
Love,
Mom
GREG, YOU’RE A FUCKING IDIOT. WHY THE HELL WOULD THIS MORON THINK HE IS ALLOWED IN WHARTON WHEN HE IS A DORK ENGINEER? MIT CLINCHES IT. SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED BUT PERFECT FOR A GOVT JOB MOVING CRATES IN A WAREHOUSE FOR THE CIA. NOT A WHARTHOG, FRANK REYNOLDS IS A MAJOR TOOL.
Congratulations to someone knowing the Wharton rugby team’s name. Thats about as much as one can add to this ridiculous example of the US justice system.
As someone who is currently going through the brutally competitive application process to top 10 MBA programs, one thing really stood out to me in this article.
How in the world did this guy get into MIT Sloan? They didn’t mention whether it was the full-time program or another one of their profit-center degree mill executive programs… but I would have to guess it is the latter. MIT Sloan had about a 12-13% acceptance rate last year and they generally only bother interviewing about 20-25% of their applicant pool.
Okay… I found it:
http://www.invivotherapeutics.com/team.php
He fails to mention the BA from Rider or the Masters in Psychology from Chestnut Hill College on his corporate bio. He only puts up his various “coursework” at the prestigous schools. Shrug.
This is why I have a lot more respect for schools that don’t dilute their brand.
my favorite line:
“A management degree from an engineering school just doesn’t even make sense,” he said.
So what’s with the Sloan MBA?!
@35, hey “MBA Aspirant”…. sorry to break it to you bro, but you sound like a total tool speaking that way of an MBA program.
i graduated from a top business school and i guarantee that you don’t learn shit there…
so please stop spelling out stats on admission, don’t waste your time and money on applications and go start a company in some 3rd word country. you’ll be better off that way.
@38
Right on the money. I graduated from a garbage part-time MBA and am killing it out here in Asia. Liberal arts degree + language skills FTW! Now, if only I can avoid getting H1N1….