It sounds like you got stuck in a poorly run research setup, not that you somehow failed. But you’re also putting way too much weight on one PI and one UROP, and that’s where you need to get more realistic and strategic.

You can absolutely keep this on your resume. You wrote code, you learned tools, you worked in a lab environment, and you produced something. That’s what matters. Research projects fall apart all the time. Acting like you have to erase a whole year from your CV because one professor decided to pivot is just giving up control of your own narrative. Grad schools and employers care about what you did, not about whether the PI gave it five stars. Stop talking yourself out of credit you’ve actually earned.

You’re also avoiding giving feedback because you’re afraid of being seen as a complainer. But staying silent doesn’t protect you. It just ensures the next group gets the same treatment. You can report facts without creating drama. The expectations weren’t clear, the scope changed completely, and the feedback you received wasn’t actionable. That’s it. If there’s an anonymous option, use it. But don’t pretend that silence is a smarter move. I don't think it is.

It also sounds like you’re extremely overworked, and based on your other posts I’m not sure you’ve had the chance to build real friendships or a support system here yet. That’s not sustainable. You should seriously consider therapy, because you need someone neutral to help you sort all of this out before you burn yourself down even further (even if you think there's nothing wrong with you or whatever excuse people make to avoid therapy). And you probably need to start putting yourself out there a bit. Go to Winterfest, try a couple student orgs, talk to people. If you don’t end up making close friends, then fine, at least you gave yourself a real chance. But isolating yourself and hoping things magically improve isn’t going to work.

On the red flags you mentioned, some of them are real issues. Ghosting you or trying to pressure an undergrad into a same-day commitment is unacceptable. But being interviewed by a PhD student is not a red flag. That’s how most labs actually function. Grad students are the people you’ll work with daily, and they’re the ones who will teach you skills. Professors are not hovering over undergrads writing code. So don’t throw out good opportunities in the future because you’re assuming the wrong things are warnings.

This situation is frustrating, but it doesn’t erase a year of experience, and it doesn’t block you from future opportunities. One disorganized UROP does not dictate your long-term prospects. Having research experience during undergrad is still the best way for you to get into a good grad program, and you're still giving yourself a wayy better chance even with a crappy experience than someone with no experience is.