UMD Gemstone - Is it really worth it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
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<p>I was recently accepted to the Gemstone Honors Program at UMD. However, I originally applied because I heard it was prestigious and involves a lot of research. I wanted to know if anyone thinks the program is really worth it though. I've heard several things from Gemstone students, ranging from "it's not worth all of the work" to "it's completely worthwhile." I'm slightly nervous for Gemstone because I fear the program will not be worth all the work and also fear that it might hurt my GPA (hurting my chances for grad school/employment).
Also, I know that students of all majors can do Gemstone, but is it still mainly engineering-based? Is Gemstone helpful for someone who wants to study business?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1083847-gemstone-university-honors-engineering.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1083847-gemstone-university-honors-engineering.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>read this thread, has plenty of great info from people who are in gemstone, helped me cement my decision.</p>

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<p>Thank you for making my post unnecessary.</p>

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<p>Yes, but you can be happy that all the good info on the other thread came from you, Gina!</p>

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<p>no problemo</p>

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<p>I am an engineering student who signed up for Gemstone for the Fall and hope it is worth it. I know people who said it was very enjoyable and that you create close relationships within Gemstone and your team. By hurting your GPA, I am assuming you mean that you will not be able to put as much work into your other classes because of the extra work from Gemstone. If you can form any sort of time management plan, this should not be a problem at all. From what I have heard, the “real work” does not begin until the last couple of years when the actual project occurs. Also, because there are teams upwards of 14 people, every person I talked to from Gemstone said that others will understand if you have to study for an exam or need some time focusing on a certain subject as long as you contribute at some point and if you help them when they are in need. It is also in no way engineering-based as of the 10 or so people I spoke to, one was a mechanical engineering major. Lastly, you get to pick which project you join, so you do not have to pick an engineering one if you do not want to.</p>

<p>I am personally looking forward to Gems camp since it seems like a lot of fun and because we get to move in a few days early before the busy move-in day. I might see you there. Remember that you can always fall back on University Honors, but you cannot join Gemstone after the year has started.</p>

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<p>One of the most valuble people on our team is a business major.</p>