I'm currently doing research as part of the Department of Energy's SULI program at one of their national labs. The program is not what I expected, and the experience is very hard on my mental health. I'll be applying for grad schools in the fall, and have a 3.9 GPA and have done research at my undergrad institution, which includes a trip to the ACS national meeting. My research professor told me that I was welcome to continue researching over the summer in my usual lab if I decided to quit. How much less competitive is my grad school application without this program on my resume?
