Ok, glad you made the comment that there is no need for disclaimer about Maryland bias on this forum, haha.
So, my son (MechE) did look at G Tech. His reasons for eliminating it had to do with reports from friends who attended that many of the core classes at G Tech tend to be weed out classes - designed to eliminate the chaff from the wheat. There is not a good support system in place for retention at GT compared to what Maryland has to offer. Not saying Maryland is a cake walk at all, but they at least start out reasonably challenging and get progressively harder as you advance in the curricula, plus they have all kinds of support if you need it.
He also felt that he did not want to go to a school geared only to technology because of the female factor - the male/female ratio is really not good at GT. As an engineering student, he pretty much expected more males for his engineering classes, but he didn’t want that kind of ratio across the board in all classes, and for social life/events/organizations/activities outside of engineering classes. At Maryland, the university as a whole has a pretty even male/female ratio…
As for not doing Gemstone, no worries, as you can do research in the engineering department starting as early as freshman year (personally, I would recommend not starting in the Fall of freshman year simply because that’s the time to adjust to being on your own, make your social connections, figure out workload/social balance stuff).
I’m not so sure GT has “better opportunities” than Maryland. Read through all of this thread to get a better sense of Maryland’s engineering http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1732708-everything-you-want-to-know-about-engineering-at-maryland-p1.html
As for 30 minutes away, wow, you have no idea how fortunate you are for that. First, that really is enough “space” between you and home, even though you may not think so now. Living at UM is like living in a bubble and you really get to choose how much or how little contact you have with home. However, should you get sick, or get a cavity or wisdom teeth get impacted, lucky you will not have to pick a name out of hat and see a strange doctor/dentist without knowing if they are decent or not. Also, you get to go home to attend family functions if you choose to because there are no prohibitive travel expenses. And hey, if you are overstressed and can’t deal with piled up laundry or need a break from dining hall food …you can go home for a day or even a weekend to rejuvenate.
Feel free to ask any specific questions…