<p>So, I don’t know if this thread is still current, but I just saw it and thought I should put in my two cents. Well, I’m a freshman right now in Gemstone, and I was also considering not accepting the invitation. I ended up accepting, with the ideology that I could always drop out if I didn’t like it, but that if I didn’t accept, I wouldn’t be able to get back in. It is true that some people dislike Gemstone, but it actually is a prestigious program - the most prestigious on here at UMD. Plus, instead of being a research assistant, you are doing your own student-led research. I am a Psych major, and while it’s not that common in Gemstone because most people are chem/bio/engineering, there are plenty of other random majors like Spanish, Lit, etc. It would be a major plus for med/grad school, and you can still do outside research on campus - it doesn’t take up THAT much of your life. Along those lines, most of the projects are technologically/medically based, but there are some that are not, for people more interested in research that doesn’t revolve around physical science.</p>
<p>As far as the extra work, gemstone requires that you take 1 class per semester (the first semester is ridiculously easy…it’s an intro class taught by other undergrads and I’ll be teaching next fall!!) Second semester you take 2 (4 credits)…not so easy, and this is when most people drop the program, but if you stick with it, I have heard that the actual researching and project isn’t as hard as the second semester makes it seem.</p>
<p>Finally, I noticed some people put on here that its obvious Gemstone students will be nerdy, but this definitely isn’t the case for a lot of the people I know. Everyone is super nice, and the one thing I love about our dorm is that you don’t have drunken idiots running around at all hours of the night keeping you awake…that doesn’t mean we don’t party…I myself am not one to go out much (I do drive the UMD shuttle buses for people who go out!!), but a few people on my floor go out to parties/bars regularly on the weekends. You will find that generally, Gemstone kids are the most involved on campus, so they have lives outside of class and work! </p>
<p>Oh yeah, and the definite plus about Gemstone housing is that you are right next to the dining hall and the gym…so while everyone else is hiking in the winter to get food, you literally just walk across the sidewalk!!
Hope this helps, and I hope anyone looking at this will consider Gemstone (btw, I rejected Princeton for UMD and I love it here!)</p>