I am not a CS student, but I do study in a field where computers, maths and clever algorithms play a big role (biomedical signal processing). Also I am not necessarily a good student - I care only somewhat about grades, and if I find something that is not part of the curriculum, but is more interesting, I pursue it instead, sometimes at a cost of a better grade.
Indie programming is fun for me in short term, but research is more rewarding in the long run, because of the positive impact and opportunities it brings. Research is also more varied (includes not only writing code, but also math and words and also working on study design, statistical analysis and subject testing).