Table 4.

Students Perceived Benefits and Challenges Associated with Virtual Learning.

Theme	Percentage of Comments*	Example Quotation
Socializing  Students missed connecting with other high-schoolers and lab members in person.	30%	“I was not able to socialize with other students who have similar interests. I think that it was more difficult to get to know others in the program.”
Hands-on Experience  Limited opportunities to conduct experiments in the lab	27%	“It was frustrating not being able to physically perform experiments”
Access  Students felt they received a high level of attention from their research mentors in the virtual program	24%	“Being in the program before, this year it felt I got more time talking to my research mentor than last year. We talked every week just us two. I was not as nervous and didn’t have to worry about the rest of the lab”
Skills/Careers Mentorship  Students received support to develop a professional skill and/or were introduced to a career of interest to them by a mentor	19%	“I felt like I didn’t understand how to write like I was being asked to and the writing workshops really helped me to understand what was expected in an abstract and now I feel confident I can write one.”

^*Note: Percentages were calculated according to the total number of comments coded.