Women-founded · New York

Real students. Real conversations. Honest answers.

Honest Pete is a women-founded company, started by people who've been on both sides of the campus tour.

Honest Pete is a student-to-student college discovery platform that gives prospective students and their families access to candid, firsthand perspectives from current college students. College websites can tell you the facts. Honest Pete helps answer the questions people are actually wondering about: the people, workload, weekends, traditions, housing, clubs, social life, and what it really feels like to be there.

Fans cheering in the stands at a college football game

Mission

Make candid, firsthand student perspectives easier to access so prospective students can feel more informed, less uncertain, and more excited about the college experience ahead.

Vision

A college decision process where students do not have to rely on brochures, rankings, or personal connections alone to understand what life at a school actually feels like.

Our story

Honest Pete started before it had a name.

When founder Emmy Keogh toured UCLA as a prospective student, some of the questions she cared about most were the ones the official materials didn't really answer. Through a cousin, she ended up getting shown around by a friend of a friend of a friend, and that casual conversation gave her the kind of honest context she had been looking for.

A few years later at Penn, Emmy found herself on the other side of the exact same experience: meeting prospective students for coffee, walking them around campus, and answering the questions they actually wanted to ask. She had become the friend of a friend of a friend.

That was when the idea clicked: the most useful college insight often comes from a regular student who is willing to tell you the honest truth, but access to that person usually depends on who you happen to know.

Oceania Schaay, one of Honest Pete's founding team members, shared a similar experience. She has said she likely would not have chosen Penn without one conversation with a current student that changed everything for her.

Honest Pete was created to make those conversations easier to access, so students don't have to depend on luck or personal connections to hear what life at a school actually feels like.

What we value

Honesty

Useful perspective comes from real experiences, nuance, and candid answers, not a rehearsed sales pitch.

Human Connection

Some questions are better answered by a person than a website. A real conversation can make an unfamiliar school feel much more alive.

Curiosity

Ask the questions you're actually wondering about, including the ones that feel too specific, random, or personal for a campus tour.

Access

Helpful student networks shouldn't be limited to families who already know someone at every college.

Respect

Prospective students and current students should both feel safe, heard, and treated thoughtfully. Current students share their own experiences; they do not represent their university or provide admissions guarantees.

Women-founded

The women behind Honest Pete.

Emmy Keogh

Founder

Emmy Keogh is the founder of Honest Pete, where she leads the company's brand, product, customer experience, marketing, and partnerships. She created Honest Pete to make the candid student-to-student conversations that often shape college decisions easier to access—without having to rely on knowing the right person.

Emmy graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2026 with a B.A. in Communication, concentrating in Data & Network Science, and a minor in Consumer Psychology. Her background spans brand strategy, consumer research, customer experience, and marketing through work with companies including Sylvain, Wawa, and early-stage startups.

Now based in New York City, Emmy is building Honest Pete to make the college search feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more exciting—helping students get real perspective, trust that the right fit is out there, and feel more confident about what comes next.

Oceania Schaay

Director of Operations & Growth

Oceania Schaay leads Honest Pete's internal operations and growth. She is currently studying at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is pursuing a B.A. in International Relations and a minor in Sustainability and Environmental Management, with an expected graduation year of 2029.

Her experience spans operations, research, leadership, and community engagement. As a research analyst for a college counseling firm, Oceania has worked with higher-education data and research, translating complex information into clear reports and comparative insights.

Oceania was drawn to Honest Pete because of her own college decision experience. A candid conversation with a current student ultimately helped convince her to attend Penn, giving her the kind of honest, firsthand perspective that can be difficult to find through traditional campus tours and admissions materials.

Find a Current Student Join the Student Network