How prestigious is Gemstone?

<p>Prestgious enough to be a better choice than UVA, UNC, or Carnegie Mellon?</p>

<p>This question…what the…o.0</p>

<p>Gemstone is certainly part of the package at MD. It’s certainly “prestigious” because only the best students are asked to participate. But then, it’s also prestigious to get National Merit Finalist or some crap, but do employers care about that? No. Invitation to Gemstone only reflects your HS academic record, which employers and grad schools won’t care about 4 years later. Beyond that, Gemstone is simply an “opportunity”. Employers care about what skills you learned. You have to look at the program in and of itself, and ask yourself if it’s something you’re interested in and what specific SKILLS (not bonus points, skills) and experiences you’re looking to get from it. So, as an opportunity, Gemstone is valuable if it’s something you’re truly interested in, and may be enough to tip the balance in UMCP’s favor.</p>

<p>Other parts of the package include very highly ranked engineering, comp sci, etc. programs, which may actually be ranked higher than those at UVa, UNC, etc.</p>

<p>No school that you have listed is more prestigious than MD to the point where it will impact your grad school and employment prospects. </p>

<p>So, what school you should attend should be based on other considerations.</p>

<p>For most in-state students, price is another consideration.</p>

<p>MD also has a different feel and setting than UVa, Carnegie Melon. I would never in a million years attend UVa over MD, whether I was in Gemstone or not. My parents wanted me to attend UVa really badly and there’s no doubt I would have gotten in. However, I refused to even apply. Carnegie Melon, maybe…however, I knew the cost would be significantly greater and did not particularly fancy Pittsburgh over DC, so I did not consider it.</p>

<p>MD is most similar to UNC, I’d imagine, but even then the two are somewhat different (Maryland has the proximity to a much larger city, but an immediate college town with less offerings). I had a tough time deciding whether or not to apply to Chapel Hill. In the end, I decided UNC didn’t offer the big city I wanted. I also did not apply to UNC.</p>

<p>No school on that list has enough “prestige” for that to be a factor on its own when deciding where to attend. Maybe if we’re comparing Harvard vs. MD, and I liked the city of Boston a little less than I liked DC, I would go for Harvard. But in the case of UVa, Chapel Hill, Carnegie Melon, etc…if there is something I don’t like about them, they are not worth it.</p>

<p>I’d have to disagree. UNC carries a lot more recognition than UMD because its is sooo hard to get in, especially if you are an out of state student. Also, UNC is ranked a lot higher than UMD on US News and Report. The only thing that I would worry about is the type of students at UNC. The majority of them are in state students. If you’re looking for a school that has students from a variety of places, I would go to UMD, or if you want to be close to dc for internships, I would stay in MD. But, if that’s not the case, I would choose any of the other schools over UMD.</p>

<p>I’d do Gemstone over UVA or UNC. I would not, under any circumstances, do Gemstone over Carnegie Mellon.</p>

<p>“UNC carries a lot more recognition than UMD because its is sooo hard to get in, especially if you are an out of state student. Also, UNC is ranked a lot higher than UMD on US News and Report.”</p>

<p>Your first point does not matter.</p>

<p>Again, the fact that you got into UNC OOS is a reflection of your high school achievements. Do you put your SAT on your grad school apps? No. That would be silly. Similarly, it’s silly to think that just because UNC is harder to get into OOS it would look better to anyone - when you’re graduating and looking for post grad education or an employer, the grades that got you into UNC were from FIVE-SIX YEARS AGO. The employers I talked to don’t care about that - they care about your COLLEGE grades, your LSAT/MCAT scores (well, post graduate programs do), your involvement on campus and leadership activities, your intern experience…on and on and name of school is at the bottom of the barrel and it’s honestly not gonna get to that. Maybe if you were from Podunk State it would, but UMCP is no Podunk State.</p>

<p>Rankings on US News and World Report have SOME bearing…however when you’re comparing two flagship state unis, I doubt it has much. If it’s Salisbury or Towson or another less known campus in the Maryland system versus UNC, well of course the flagship is USUALLY the way to go. If it’s Harvard vs. Maryland, well, maybe you’ll get some brownie points for Harvard - but plenty of people turn down Harvard because they can’t afford it, etc. and those people by and large still get into great grad programs and get great jobs. So, if we’re talking UNC versus Maryland, the difference is probably totally null in the prestige department (in terms of employment and grad school prospects).</p>

<p>HOWEVER, in terms of your individual LEARNING experience, that’s different. Do you enoy the classes? The program? The courses? The city you live in? Do you like a smaller or bigger school? Well, that’s one thing. But “prestige” is about the most ridiculous thing to base any decision on.</p>

<p>“I would not, under any circumstances, do Gemstone over Carnegie Mellon.”</p>

<p>It’s nice if you have the luxury…many IS students do not and cannot afford a private school.</p>

<p>Idk if OP is OOS or IS…and what his financial situation is…</p>

<p>But again hopefully he is choosing Carnegie Mellon because of individual things he knows about the program and the educational experience, and not because of “prestige”.</p>

<p>Do NOT do Gemstone because you think it’s prestigious. That kind of thinking will make you hate your experience. </p>

<p>DO do Gemstone because you genuinely have an interest in team research. Because you want to be part of designing a project with your peers and carrying it through. </p>

<p>Also, you’re going to do so much more at Maryland outside of Gemstone that it should NOT be the deciding factor. You can’t make a college decision based on calculations of prestige, rankings, etc. You have to make a holistic decision (like UMCP11 says) that takes into account the entire university and what you will do there.</p>

<p>As far as recognition, I don’t know. However, it is a rigorous research program that you commit to for four years, and hopefully come out of with a significant achievements. </p>

<p>Consider this:
UNC graduate, let’s say 3.7 GPA. Has research experience but in other people’s labs, doing grunt work for other people’s projects.
UMD graduate, same GPA. Might have experience in another lab, but was also one of a team of undergrads that successfully created a molecule that could travel through the blood brain barrier and pull attached medications with it. (This is one of the remaining projects for the current freshman class, and will likely become a team.)
Which of those people would be hired, or accepted to a grad/med/whatever school?</p>

<p>background: InState for UMCP, but got enough FA from UNC to make it cheaper than UMCP. Still waiting on FA from UVA. Being recruited for a sport at Carnege but dunno if I can attend cuz its so expensive.</p>

<p>Also, not so sure if I would fit in UVA or CMU. And because I want to get out of MD, UNC seems like its the obvous choice. But I’m still waiting and consdering everything</p>

<p>Oh prestigious wasn’t probably the best word to use, I was thinking more along the lines of how grad schools/companies look at it</p>

<p>^that’s a really hard choice. How much cheaper? Significantly? And how “into” Gemstone are you? I wouldn’t go into major debt for MD since UNC is considered better overall, but Gemstone is something that is very enticing, you may consider taking on a minimal amount of debt.</p>

<p>Is Gemstone something you’re really, really excited to do, or are you just excited about having the opportunity to do an extra resume boosting activity? Gemstone does not have a high retention rate because it really involves passion…you get out what you put in, etc. My bro dropped out when he learned you had to write a 20 page paper second semester freshmen year for it.</p>

<p>UNC will have good opportunities for research. If Gemstone is not something that really stands out to you as something exciting to participate in, it is not as if other opportunities do not exist.</p>

<p>UNC students go to elite grad schools, too, after all :stuck_out_tongue: It’s not just people in Gemstone haha. </p>

<p>Maybe you should look into the strength of the specific programs at UNC versus MD. As well as try to visit both campuses, and DC. See if that helps you make your decision. You never mentioned the majors/departments you were interested in…</p>

<p>Other programs at MD I can tell you about that you might be interested in - a program that combines engineering school students with business school students, and you come up with the idea for an invention/start up company/etc. Pretty cool. </p>

<p>Look into the programs at UNC…do you see similar opportunities there? I’m not super familiar with the school but my assumption is there are also great programs to get involved with there too.</p>

<p>Note: It’s now a 50 page paper second semester freshman year. But with a group.</p>

<p>“^that’s a really hard choice. How much cheaper? Significantly? And how “into” Gemstone are you? I wouldn’t go into major debt for MD since UNC is considered better overall, but Gemstone is something that is very enticing, you may consider taking on a minimal amount of debt.”</p>

<p>approx 2000 cheaper. i can afford each</p>

<p>“Is Gemstone something you’re really, really excited to do, or are you just excited about having the opportunity to do an extra resume boosting activity? Gemstone does not have a high retention rate because it really involves passion…you get out what you put in, etc. My bro dropped out when he learned you had to write a 20 page paper second semester freshmen year for it.”</p>

<p>^that</p>

<p>“Maybe you should look into the strength of the specific programs at UNC versus MD. As well as try to visit both campuses, and DC. See if that helps you make your decision. You never mentioned the majors/departments you were interested in…”</p>

<p>At UMD I would go in undecided engineering or com sci. At UNC I would com sci/business double major.</p>

<p>"Other programs at MD I can tell you about that you might be interested in - a program that combines engineering school students with business school students, and you come up with the idea for an invention/start up company/etc. Pretty cool. "</p>

<p>That actually does sound good. Hadn’t ever heard of that</p>

<p>I have visited both schools, I like UNC more as a campus and I’ve never heard of anyone not liking UNC. It’s looking like a May 1st decision</p>

<p>K, then I don’t think Gemstone should factor into your decision.</p>

<p>Undoubtably there will be opportunities for building your resume at UNC, too :P</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.hinmanceos.umd.edu/[/url]”>http://www.hinmanceos.umd.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^That…looks like you’re not required to actually launch the idea you come up with, but when students decide to the university tries to help find funding, etc.</p>

<p>Unless you’re really excited about Gemstone and truly want to participate,don’t join Gemstone, especially since you want to do engineering or comp sci. I got into it but turned it down and Im so happy I just stuck with regular honors. From what I hear its A LOT of work and only the kids who really love it stick with it. If you think your one of those people than thats great but as a BioE major with friends who do comp sci I cant tell you that with either engineering or comp sci you will have a good deal of work and Gemstone is going to be a pain unless you’re really passionate about it</p>

<p>Our DS took UMDCP over UNCCH for many reasons.</p>

<p>I understand you want to go to grad school, but who knows in 4 yrs if you say ENOUGH! I am going to work for a couple of yrs because I am tired of hitting the books. </p>

<p>There is no denying that UNCCH academically is a higher ranked university than UMDCP. HOWEVER, let’s look at the major or field of interest. NASA Goddard has many UMDCP interns because it is down the road from the university. UNCCH has many IT interns because of RTP.</p>

<p>What if you decide that you get there and do a 180 turn regarding your major. Will both have the same opportunities for you? Gemstone is basically an undergrad thesis program. People are correct in stating that it is a resume builder for grad or entry level jobs after college. They are also correct if you don’t want to work in a group you are going to hate it. GO BACK TO THE APPLICATION THEY ASKED THAT, IF YOU SAID NO ON THE APP YOU WERE NOT INVITED TO GEMSTONE.</p>

<p>As far as UVA, it is also a great school, and even higher ranking than UNCCH. </p>

<p>I lived in NC for 8 out of the past 15 yrs (3 different times), I can tell you that just like UMDCP, there are people who don’t like UNCCH. I am getting the feeling that UNCCH appeals more to you because it is OOS than because of the school. That is a respectable honest reason. You want to fly on your own wings and have independence, but if you feel that you are throwing UMDCP away because the folks are too clingy…just realize I love our DS, but 30 minutes after he is in the house, I am as anxious as he is for him to return :wink: . I am pretty sure every parent on here would tell you the same, you can live 15 minutes down the road, but truthfully we will not be showing up at your dorm on Saturday morning to go out for breakfast!</p>

<p>Finally, I think UNCCH and UMDCP both have beautiful campuses, but they look different. UMDCP is federalist, UNCCH is Jeffersonian (old english…and I like the look more). The one negative I have for UNCCH is that unlike UMDCP without a car you are kind of stuck there. UMDCP has the metro that can take you anywhere. Raleigh/Cary is a “new city” and it costs money to do anything, DC can you spend the whole day there without spending a dime.</p>

<p>UNC or Carnegie Mellon a much better bet -</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>This post is spot on. Gemstone is an opportunity, not an award. If you go to Maryland, you better have something other than Gemstone as the reason. About half the kids that start off in Gemstone end up not finishing it because it was not the right fit. And you can’t just say “oh I’ll defy the odds because I’ll stay in no matter what.” You really won’t know if it’s right for you until after a year in the program. This isn’t high school anymore: you can’t do every activity possible.</p>

<p>If you come into Gemstone only for the extra prestige, like many of my friends did, you will probably make it through the first semester.
However, during second semester, you will probably drop out, or decide to drop out at the end.
102 is reasonable, just topic selection, but there is some kind of useless busy work. </p>

<p>104 is the reason most people don’t finish Gemstone. This year, from my understanding has been worse than most.According to upperclassmen, we have a better professor now, but the TA’s are worse. The professor this semester has nothing to do with us outside of the fifty minute lecture, and wants nothing to do with us. If we send an email about our TA, he will even forward that directly to the TA.
The usual semester is stricter, and more hands on. I don’t know if he’ll be back.</p>

<p>But from the TA’s, we’ve had to deal with vague instructions, constantly changing instructions (we will be graded on desicions he made about sections after we submitted them), and last week, our TA decided the project we had, which he had been approving all along was crap, and made us restart. Yesterday we had a meeting with him where he made a girl in our group cry. Then, once he noticed, started to complain to her about how he had stress in his own life. At this point, and at all points during the semester, the section leader (upperclass Gemstone student) was ignored when she tried to do something about it. She did walk out of the meeting with us and make sure the girl was okay.
Note to all, in GEMS104, the SL will probably be your only source of hope for Gemstone.</p>

<p>Hopefully, this TA does not return, but if any future Gemstone students want his name, I will give it to you in a private message so that you can steer away from the sections he’s teaching, if he teaches again.</p>