<p>Hi. Can someone provide insight into the positives and negatives of each? Which Honors program is preferable for a student who wants to pursue pre-medicine and likes research? I would like to pursue research but even if I am not in Gemstone, I would most likely pursue research outside of the program. Also, which program has greater prestige and is more recognized? Thanks</p>
<p>ILS appears to be a pre-med fast-track in some respects. All students must have scored a 5 in AP Bio in order to get ILS so that students can begin with second year courses. The dorm is air-conditioned, which is nice, and it is quieter generally. That said, there might not be enough variety of student in ILS for some people. Based on my reading and listening to UMD students, all the negative pre-med stereotypes apply at ILS, as do some of the positive ones. They’re very good, high-achieving, ambitious students. Many Banneker/Key students who are pre-med.</p>
<p>Gemstone in some cases means ILS pre-meds on steroids. ILS students aren’t sufficiently borderline for some GS students. However, most of the Gemstone students are are very good, high-achieving, ambitious, fun-loving students who enjoy working as a team and have experience doing so. The program is said to be excellent. It not only contains some of the best students at the university but it improves them. Many Banneker/Key students who are pre-med and others who are more widely invested. It’s not for everyone, of course.</p>
<p>My D decided against either of these because she didn’t know what she would major in and she wanted at least a semester abroad. These characteristics would not meld well with either program, especially the GS program where there’s a lot of program work to complete. </p>
<p>UMD students speak very highly, some of them almost in awe of, GS students. They have more disdain for the ILS students. Lots of other people here can help you out about this. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply! So are you saying that Gemstone is generally more highly regarded than ILS?</p>
<p>The sentiment on this forum is that Gemstone is regarded as the most “prestigious” program. </p>
<p>I’d say that either one has its points for high regard. ILS requires a lot of dedication to sciences, hence the 5 in AP bio. If I had to delegate a word to describe the difference, it’d be that Gems is more “holistic” in its admissions. Gemstone will likely concentrate more on you as an overall package, while ILS will look at your STEM. There’s no way I could’ve gotten into ILS (apparent by my 3 in AP Bio), but then again, I have no interest in pre-med stuff. </p>
<p>All in all, it probably depends on what type of person you are. If med and research are definitely what you want, I think ILS would be better for you individually. Look through the Gemstone projects – most of them aren’t very biology/medicine oriented. Some engineering, some social studies, some very interdisciplinary. A lot of work – I think about 200 enter, and not nearly that many graduate with Gemstone. Don’t look at which is more highly regarded. Look at which one fits you better. </p>
<p>^^^what seth davis said. </p>
<p>My S chose ILS instead of Gemstone (which most of his friends chose) because of the 4-year participation requirement. Since he will enroll with over 60 credit hours and wants to graduate early, this requirement makes Gemstone much less practical for him. And yes, Gemstone has had the reputation of being the most “prestigious” program among the kids … </p>
<p>OP - @Bearsgarden has a good point. Gem is a 4-yr commitment so if you plan to use AP/IB credits to graduate early, that’s something to consider. Based on my kids experience, I think Gemstone is a real good program. There are a lot of premed kids and engineering major kids in Gemstone. Do not consider “prestigious” factor in your decision making. Pick the one you like to do. You can’t go wrong either way as long as you make the best of what the school offers. Good luck. </p>
I wanted to ask a few new questions on this thread. First, does anyone have any insight into how taking ILS effects your GPA? If you are premed would it be better to take regular biology courses and be at the top of the curve (hopefully) or does taking classes with a cohort of honors students that you live with improve your learning such that competing with all honors kids is worth it? Second, I have heard in the past that the ILS program was not well managed in its first couple of years, any current students able to comment on this? Last, are the classes well taught, good professors, enjoyable? My child is torn between Gemstone, he thinks he would really like the group research experience, and ILS, where he thinks he would enjoy the classwork, and having a hard time deciding which to put first as far as his preference.
@terp2B I spoke with my daughter today about your concerns. She is currently a sophomore in the ILS program. She thought your question about the possible effect on GPA was a good one. She said for the most part, the professors teaching the ILS courses are aware of this concern and factor that in when doing grades. That being said, you need to work hard for an A in a class, it’s definitely not going to be handed to you just because you’re in ILS. She felt that being in ILS as a freshman was definitely a bonus, not a hindrance. For HLSC207 ( first semester,freshman year class) there were group homework’s assigned and it was nice to be able to work on them with people from the floor. Students studied together and definitely looked out for one another. It has not been a cutthroat environment. As for ILS not being well organized, she was not quite sure what specifically you are referring to. She is in the 3rd cohort of ILS, so it’s a pretty new program and as such, there is going to be a learning curve. She does feel that the ILS staff has worked well with the University’s Honors office when certain issues about classes have occurred. Next year’s freshmen will be the 5th cohort for ILS so the issues you were concerned about may have been worked out by then. As for her classes, she has liked the professors. Dr. Cooke runs the program and she couldn’t speak more highly of him. He is very approachable and he truly wants the students to excel. One of the nice things about ILS is that it is only a 2 year program. You get to meet students with similar interests and goals from the get-go. However, you are not committed to spending all 4 years together, like you are with a Gemstone group. There is a research component also for ILS. It is possible for you to have a group research experience for this depending on what research you do to fulfill the requirement. I hope this helps. Good luck to your son as he makes his decision!
Just thought I’d also throw out there that not everyone in ILS is pre-med. There are a lot students in ILS interested in medicine, but also a lot of them are interested in research.