A Pivotal Transition

Cole Simner’s journey illustrates this striking career pivot. With his undergraduate business degree still fresh, Simner landed a role at a major technology company, where exposure to cutting-edge developments ignited a profound enthusiasm for the industry’s technical foundations and research frontiers.

Initially, an MBA had seemed the logical next step, but Simner now began to envision a future immersed in computer science and its theoretical underpinnings. This shift prompted a reconsideration of his career trajectory and opened the possibility of moving from traditional business roles toward a path that combined advanced technical skills with research-oriented thinking.

The question then became how to make this vision a reality. With work experience in tech consulting and product management, Simner had the drive but lacked the formal STEM education he believed was crucial to competing for senior technical roles. He needed a bridge—a way to gain the expertise required to thrive in the tech industry. The Graduate Student-at-Large (GSAL) program at the University of Chicago Professional Education (UCPE) offered him an ideal solution: a flexible pathway to build the skills he needed while exploring graduate-level computer science education.

“GSAL was a bridge to getting into a graduate STEM program and making sure it was the right path for me before I made a full commitment,” Simner explains. “Being a business undergrad, there was a lot of material to catch up on to become competitive from an academic standpoint for graduate computer science education.”

The GSAL program gave Simner access to a wide range of courses and allowed him to explore various areas of the field while building the academic foundation he needed. He took classes that would enhance his technical skills and demonstrate his ability to handle the sort of graduate-level engineering coursework he’d encounter in UChicago’s Masters Program in Computer Science (MPCS).

“I knew there were people who were a lot more competitive than me in terms of undergraduate engineering experience,” Simner reflects. “Taking advantage of the GSAL program would allow me to not only build those skills and put those courses on my resume but also demonstrate that I could do graduate engineering coursework coming from the background that I had, and more importantly, I could do it at UChicago.”

Working closely with GSAL’s experienced team of advisors, Simner was able to craft a tailored academic plan that included enrolling in courses spanning computational mathematics, data engineering, and natural language processing. This approach let him explore different areas of computer science and data science and helped him refine his interests and goals.

This strategy paid dividends. His performance in GSAL courses caught the attention of professors, leading to opportunities for more advanced study. In one instance, a professor invited him to skip a prerequisite and enroll directly in a higher-level course after recognizing Simner’s existing knowledge and skills. These experiences not only bolstered his academic record but also provided valuable connections with faculty members who would later become mentors and references.

The GSAL bridge program offered far more than just academic preparation. As a GSAL student, Simner became a full-fledged member of the University of Chicago community with access to a wealth of resources and opportunities.

“As a GSAL student, you are part of the UChicago community,” Simner emphasizes. “You are not evaluated differently from any other UChicago graduate or undergraduate student.” This status allowed him to attend workshops, participate in campus activities, and network with students from various programs across the university.

One of the most valuable aspects of the GSAL experience for Simner was the diverse and driven student community. “The student population of GSAL is incredible,” he says. “I’ve met so many exceptional people, like people working on start-ups, military veterans, people working in quant finance—people who are intensely passionate about their fields.” These connections not only enriched his academic experience but also provided a network of peers that extended beyond his time in the program.

He recalls attending numerous student gatherings where participants shared their academic and extracurricular pursuits. One memorable experience involved dining at a GSAL alum’s new restaurant; on another occasion, a fellow student helped him during a move. A particularly standout moment came with attending Booth SeedCon, where he networked with start-up founders and investors across various industries, an opportunity facilitated by a GSAL alum enrolled at Chicago Booth School of Business.

Simner also found unexpected opportunities to engage with faculty outside the classroom. He recalls being invited by a professor to attend a lecture together, where they sat and discussed the presentation. These kinds of interactions helped Simner build relationships that would prove valuable as he applied, and was accepted, into the MPCS program and solidified his theoretical and research-oriented long-term goals, including the possibility of pursuing a PhD in the future.

Today, as a product lead for Capital One’s machine learning platform and a student in the MPCS program, Simner credits UChicago’s GSAL bridge program with setting him on this path. “The GSAL program has been one of the best things for my career and personal journey since I graduated from college,” he reflects. “I couldn’t have better things to say about it.”

For Simner, GSAL was more than just a stepping stone to a master’s program—it was an experience that opened doors, built lasting relationships, and helped him orient his new career path. As he continues his studies in the MPCS program, Simner remains an active part of the GSAL community, helping new students navigate their own paths and offering insights from his experience.

To learn more about UChicago’s graduate bridge program, visit our website.