<p>I was accepted to Maryland Honors college and have to decide in two days from now which honors program to pursue. Gemstone is very appealing to me but I am also very hesitant about joining. Participating in real research and having a real impact sounds awesome, but I also am scared to let that dominate my life as an undergrad. Does anyone know of students in Gemstone that are able to be active in frat life? has/will study abroad? There is definitely a stereotype of Gemstone students being the kinds of kids that are consumed by their school work. I am pretty good with time management and like to think that I'd be able to complete a succesful gemstone project and be socially active in a frat, study abroad, have enough time to hang out with friends, etc. Is this a realistic goal or will an attempt to do this leave me stressed and torn between two totally separate groups of students at college park?</p>
<p>In my opinion, this comes down to what you want to get out of your college years. It sounds like you want the full package, and I personally doubt this will happen in Gemstone. There are only so many hours in a day. I’m sure others will disagree. You will grow and learn a lot about yourself over the next 4 years, and a very important part of that will be the social experience. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for Gemstone because I have zero personal info on the program. I do know it’s an excellent program though. My daughter is a freshman in the honors college. She chose University Honors for the exact reasons you mention. She believed it allowed her the most flexibility. She is in a sorority and really values her social time. Also, she very much wants to study abroad. Beyond that she is involved in a few clubs as well. She studies a lot, was just invited to join the Primannum Honor Society, but she really is living a very rich college life. She was looking for a school that would allow her to get a very good education and also be very involved in greek life and all that comes with that.
Good luck to you!</p>
<p>My son attends and his gf graduated. They both report the gemstone kids are generally the best students. Not necessarily the 40 brightest, but the 40 of the best students. They also work the hardest, a step above the rest of honors. Hope this helps. Like terpmom’s D, my D chose not to pursue gemstones because of the inflexibility vs. reward equation. She may design her own major, just to give you a sense of how flexible D is [-( </p>
<p>It depends on what you are trying to get out of your college life. The Gems is a good program if you want to research after college or go to grad school/PhD route. It’s a pretty structured program so once your team is set (end of Freshman year), you stay together until the project is done. There are a lot of engineering majors and premed kids in Gems program. I can’t comment on other Honors program b/c both my boys selected Gems. </p>