<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>