A Penn freshman turned his own struggles into a way for students to share real insights with each other.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero
A freshman at the University of Pennsylvania is on a mission to make the college search process more honest and human. Jack Goldstein, along with his younger brother Evan, a high school sophomore, set out to build a platform where students could connect directly with peers already living the experience. Drawing from a cross-country move and the challenges of adjusting to an Ivy League environment, the brothers bring both passion and perspective to creating a tool that prioritizes authenticity over marketing gloss. Here, Jack answers questions about launch, approach to problem solving, and the purpose behind the platform.
What inspired you to launch this?
Honestly, the whole college search process felt pretty impossible. I did 12 campus visits between sophomore and senior year, and they were all basically useless—same scripted tours, same generic presentations. I’d walk away thinking, “Okay, but what’s it actually like to be a student here?”
‘Honestly, the whole college search process felt pretty impossible. I did 12 campus visits between sophomore and senior year, and they were all basically useless—same scripted tours, same generic presentations. I’d walk away thinking, “Okay, but what’s it actually like to be a student here?”‘
Then junior year, Piper, who went to Syracuse—she was two years ahead of me at my high school—spent 90 minutes with me on campus about what her life was really like there. Not trying to sell me anything, just being real. Same thing happened with Sash at Penn. Those conversations completely changed how I thought about those schools.
Evan and his brother Jack Goldstein, founders of Quadzio.
But here’s the thing—I’m a few weeks into freshman year now, and I realize there was so much I still didn’t know. I was nervous about coming 3,000 miles from home with only three kids from my high school. Would I like my roommate? How was I going to fit in socially? Could I actually handle the academic pressure of an Ivy League school? Having someone who’d been through exactly what I was about to go through would have been incredibly helpful.
My brother Evan, who’s a sophomore in high school, kept saying “We need to fix this”. He knows he and his classmates are about to go thru the same struggles unless meaningful change is made. And now that I’m living it, I get it even more.
Which past experiences have most shaped your approach?
Those conversations with Piper and Sash were game-changers because they were honest about the stuff that actually matters—not just academics, but the social dynamics, the stress, the day-to-day reality of being away from home.
But I’m realizing now that even those conversations couldn’t prepare me for everything. Like, I’m taking some pretty rigorous classes and there’s definitely moments where I wonder if I belong here. It’s natural to have that self-doubt, but it would have been so much better to know that going in—to hear from someone who’d felt the same way and made it through.
That’s what we’re trying to build with Quadzio. Not just the highlight reel, but the real stuff that keeps you up at night before you start college.
What kind of traction have you seen so far, and where do you hope to be in a year?
The response has been really encouraging. Evan and I started just talking to people, and almost everyone said “I wish this existed when I was applying.” We weren’t trying to recruit from 100+ schools—it just happened because students immediately got what we were building.
‘We weren’t trying to recruit from 100+ schools—it just happened because students immediately got what we were building.’
A lot of our ambassadors have basically become part of the team, helping with everything from social media to figuring out how to scale this. In a year, I’d love for this to just be how students explore colleges. Like, why wouldn’t you talk to someone who’s actually living the experience before making this huge decision?
How do you see technology—and AI in particular—reshaping education, and where does your work fit in?
AI is useful for certain things—essays, research, test prep. But you can’t ask ChatGPT what it feels like to be homesick your first week or how to navigate the social scene at a specific school. We use technology to match students safely based on interests and backgrounds, but the actual conversations are just human-to-human.
I think that’s what a lot of edtech misses. Some things just need to be real conversations between people who’ve been through the same experience.
Any final thoughts on the future of education?
Students want authentic information, not marketing materials. They want to hear from people like them who’ve actually lived through what they’re about to experience.
‘Students want authentic information, not marketing materials. They want to hear from people like them who’ve actually lived through what they’re about to experience.’
I keep thinking about all the kids who are going to feel the same anxiety I felt—wondering if they’re making the right choice, if they can handle it, if they’ll find their place. If we can connect them with students who’ve been there and can say “yeah, I felt that too, and here’s how it actually worked out,” that could make a huge difference.
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Victor Rivero is the Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com
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