College is usually one of the exciting times of people’s lives, and college dating sites can make it even better. Picture it: you’re probably away from home for the first time, making your own decisions, participating in new clubs and activities, and meeting tons of new people online and offline.

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As a 20-something, you can flirt pretty much 24/7 — in class, at parties, at bars, or through friends and extracurriculars. But it never hurts to get some extra credit by going to a college dating site or app.

That’s where these nine best dating sites for college students come in. Not only can they help you find cute and interesting coeds in your age group, but, since you might not have a lot of money to spare, they’re also 100% free to join.

1. Match.com

SEE ALSO: Best dating sites for introverts, wallflowers, and anyone hesitant to try online dating Our best picks for college students are the following: We like OkCupid for its inclusivity, its.

Match.com is a god among dating sites because it’s been around the longest (founded in 1995), has the largest user base (30 million members), and has the best reputation (the best dates, relationships, and marriages). The dating website is free to join, and once you fill out your personal information and match criteria, you can start searching (e.g., by age and location) for potential matches as well as receiving them in your inbox. It’s free to message the dating profiles with the highest compatibility rating with you (i.e. your Top Picks), but you’ll have to subscribe to message everyone on Match.com.

2. Zoosk

• The first step in What Is The Best Online Dating Site For College Students finding a friend with benefits is finding friends. The friends you find matter, of course. If you make friends at an evangelical religious retreat, you're a lot less What Is The Best Online Dating Site For College Students likely to find a sex partner than if you make.
• About 20 years ago, a survey of 1,000 college women revealed that 63% of single women wanted to meet their future husband in college, yet only half of female seniors had been asked on six or more dates since attending college. Online dating has offered an effective solution to this issue by making it much easier to get asked out on a date.

About 90% of 20-somethings say their phone never leaves their side, and if you’re one of them and you’re single, we’d recommend Zoosk. This was one of the first dating apps on the scene, so it knows what it’s doing. Plus, a majority of its membership are younger singles like you. You can even sync up your Facebook or Google+ account, and your Zoosk profile will be created in seconds. Zoosk has over 40 million members worldwide, and the vast majority of them are young singles seeking a hot date.

4. EliteSingles

EliteSingles was specifically created for college students and alumni, so you’ll feel right at home here. More than 80% of its members have a bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, or other higher education degree — and they want to meet someone who’s just as educated. It’s 100% free to sign up, create a dating profile, upload photos, browse singles by using various filters, and communicate in certain ways. So you can spend less of your money on online dating and more of it on beer!

5. Adult Friend Finder

For most singles, college is a time for experimenting, meeting new people, and playing the field, and if you agree, AdultFriendFinder just might be the adult site for you. Everyone on AdultFriendFinder is on the same page — they’re looking for no-strings-attached sex. If you’re already in a relationship and want to add a third to the mix, you’re more than welcome to join AdultFriendFinder as well. The AFF community is open to just about anything, so it’s a perfect place to explore your sexuality.

Friendsy

Friendsy first launched as a college dating website and social network in 2013, with the app premiering in 2015 (which you can download via The App Store and Google Play). You must have a valid .edu email address to join, and then you can use their Tinder-like swipe matching system to find hookups, study buddies, friends, and dates in your area. “Our vision is to be the number one way college students meet. With 2 million matches and counting, we’re working day and night to bring that vision to life,” said Friendsy CEO Vaidhy Murti. Study up!

URL:https://www.friendsyapp.com/

CampusFlirts

College life is often associated with hookups and quickies, but that’s not actually the case for everyone. Some college students are looking for serious relationships that lead to marriage, and an upstanding dating site like CampusFlirts can help. This is a students-only zone, and it encourages deep conversations and relationships to flourish. CampusFlirts is totally free to use — even to send and receive messages. You can flirt without spending your beer and books money, and that makes it an A+ in our books.

URL:https://www.campusflirts.com/

CollegeFriendsDate

No matter if you’re a partier or more introverted, CollegeFriendsDate will help you meet like-minded and like-aged people, and you have thousands to choose from. Create an account through the homepage or pull your information from Facebook (either way, it’s free), and then you’ll gain access to the site’s search and communication features. If you’re a quick study, you may just come away with a hot date for Saturday night.

URL:http://www.collegefriendsdate.com/

SinglesCrowd

While SinglesCrowd doesn’t strictly cater to a college audience, it’s still a good dating site for college students because a majority of the user base is younger. There’s an easy and free one-step registration process, and every profile is approved and moderated by the team, keeping scammers at bay. Not to mention SinglesCrowd uses encryption technology to protect all of your personal information.

URL:http://www.singlescrowd.com/

UniversityLoveConnection

As you can tell from the URL, UniversityLoveConnection aims to help college students mingle online. There are only two steps to get started on UniversityLoveConnection: 1) Choose your university or community college. 2) Click “Find Students on Campus.” You’ll then be given access to their free, comprehensive, country-wide map. Get involved in this community and maybe you’ll even meet someone special while you’re at it.

URL: http://www.universityloveconnection.com/

We’ve Done the Homework — The Rest is Up to You!

Your college years will fly by before you know it, and you should take advantage of every minute on campus. You’re surrounded by opportunities here, and a college dating site can further expand your romantic options — without straining your budget.

When you want to add another avenue to your list of people-meeting resources, check out these college dating sites. In our opinion, they pass with flying colors, and we think you’ll agree!

When I was in college, I was in no hurry to find a relationship. I saw my 20s as a golden opportunity to try new things and find out what I liked best. I was single, I was free, and I was determined to make the most of it.

If you feel similarly, then you should check out college dating apps. These footloose and fancy-free platforms were designed to satisfy the youthful, adventurous, and experimental spirit of today’s college-aged singles. It’s not just about hookup culture — it’s about discovering who you are and finding your place in the dating scene. Maybe that’s by one person’s side, or maybe it’s playing the field.

We’ve done our homework and researched the best dating apps for college singles, and we’ve even done some extra credit by answering frequently asked questions found along the way. Take notes, and you might learn something.

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Top College Dating Apps (#1-3)

Starting off our list are the dating apps that consistently rank at the top of the class. They break the curve. They ace the test. Most importantly, they get results. If you want to make the grade in the college dating scene, then start by downloading these top-rated apps.

1. Match.com

• Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
• Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
• About the App: Available via the App Store and Google Play, Match is a fantastic app for dates and relationships. With a user base of 30 million singles, Match is where you'll have a high chance of success. It's free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

Launched in 1995, Match is about the same age as many of its most active users. The dating site and app have years of experience and wisdom when it comes to matchmaking, and that’s helpful for young singles just starting to find their way.

While only 25% of Match.com members are under 30, the young people who do create accounts here do so because they’re tired of playing games and swiping blindly through dates. The Match app gives them a chance to slow down, consider their options, and get to know dates on a personal level.

Match has become particularly popular among college-educated singles — nearly 75% of its members have attended college — because it offers personality-driven tools to set singles up for success in the online dating scene.

2. EliteSingles

• Relationships: Deep Relationships
• Match System: Search by education, lifestyle habits, age
• About the App: Commitment-minded, professional daters will feel at home with EliteSingles, which can be downloaded for free in the App Store or Google Play. Not only is everyone looking for a long-term partner, but 80% of members hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree. EliteSingles sees 210,000 visitors and 2,500 users finding love every month, so it's one of the fastest growing and most reputable apps.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

EliteSingles is for the go-getter singles who don’t want to settle for second-rate dates. This upscale dating app uses a smart matching system to bring compatible people together and help them break the ice.

The biggest upside to EliteSingles is its high-quality dating pool. Over 85% of EliteSingles members have attended college and are pursuing careers in medicine, law, business, and other professional fields. These are serious folks seeking a serious relationship, and they’re willing to invest in the app’s premium features.

EliteSingles is a pay-to-chat app that attracts successful singles looking for that missing piece of the puzzle in their lives. It’s free to create an account and see what it has to offer you.

3. Tinder

If you’ve been single for a minute, you’ve probably heard about Tinder, and maybe you’ve even tried it out before. This dating app is the go-to wingman for many 20-somethings. In fact, the median age on Tinder is 26.

When it launched in 2012, Tinder invented swiping and offered singles a new way to sift through the dating scene. College singles immediately embraced it, and the app has been a fixture in the college dating scene ever since.

Tinder empowers singles to create matches, enjoy flirting, and date multiple people at once.

Tinder is the top dog in the online dating scene with impressive stats to back up its success. The dating app leads to over 1 million dates per week, and it sees over 2 billion views per day. Plus, it’s gotten some rave reviews on Google Play and the App Store.

“It’s a really good app to meet new people and experience new things,” said Chance Scott in a review. “Perfect for new-to-town people.”

Top “Free” College Dating Apps (#4-6)

Let’s be honest, most college students are on a tight budget. Broke college student memes are funny but also painfully true. Between meals, books, fees, and rent, it’s hard to save some cash for fun stuff — like non-used furniture and non-broken kitchen appliances — much less for online dating.

Thankfully, we can save you a bundle of cash by recommending some completely free dating apps. After all, love shouldn’t cost a thing.

4. Zoosk

• Relationships: Casual Dates, Relationships
• Match System: Search for and receive matches
• About the App: Zoosk is the number one app for finding dates, and if you sync up your Google+ or Facebook account, you can have a profile in seconds. The app has 38 million members and will deliver matches to your inbox on a daily basis based on your behavior such as who you search for, like or don't like, and message. The Carousel is another section for matching (tap the heart if it's a yes and the X if it's a no).
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

Zoosk is a socially savvy dating app with many interactive and engaging features. Since launching in 2007, the app has amassed a global following of over 40 million singles, and its members send over 3 million messages a day via the app.

The Zoosk team has developed a one-of-a-kind behavioral matchmaking system that learns what singles like by observing which profiles they like, view, and message. Zoosk will recommend compatible dating profiles in the Carousel and SmartPick sections, but it also has advanced search filters to help singles find attractive dates on their own.

It’s free to download Zoosk and browse dating profiles, send likes, and see if anyone sticks out. Zoosk also offers limited chatting to free members (you’ll only get to respond to certain messages in your inbox, not everything), and it has affordable subscription packages that cost as little as $13 a month.

5. Bumble

Bumble earned its reputation as the world’s first feminist dating app by consistently and unapologetically putting women first. In 2014, Bumble broke the standard online dating mold when it required women to send the first message once a mutual match had been struck between a man and a woman.

The female-led Bumble team essentially threw gender stereotypes out the window and empowered young women to be the deciders in the dating scene. Today, Bumble has the highest concentration of 20-somethings of any dating app.

Women can take control of their matches thanks to Bumble’s progressive setup.

It’s free to download Bumble, and it’s free to swipe on Bumble, and it’s free to chat on Bumble, so there’s really no reason to upgrade your account unless you’re dying to see your likes, get unlimited swipes, and boost your experience with premium features. These features are great perks, but they’re not necessary to picking up dates on Bumble.

6. OkCupid

OkCupid is the original free dating app. Since 2004, the OkCupid team has promised to provide free signups, free matching, and free unlimited communication to all users, and that’s worked out pretty well for everyone involved. College students flock to OkCupid to try out the free features and discover dates who share similar lifestyles and interests.

The OkCupid matchmaking system is distinctly so if you're looking for adult fun, you've come to the right place. Not to mention, the site has millions of guys doing bad things as well. Once you get the app (free for iOS and Android), you can fill out a profile, complete with your specific sexual desires, search, have compatible profiles sent to your inbox, and communicate.

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The FriendFinder-X tagline is “where good girls do bad things,” and that pretty much summarizes what it has to offer singles. Singles, couples, and groups can enjoy being a little naughty on this local hookup site.

FriendFinder-X is a discreet dating site where you can register under a nickname or pseudonym, and you never have to disclose your real identity or post photos of yourself if you don’t want to. Tens of thousands of sexy profiles await on FriendFinder-X, and the simple five-step signup process makes sure you waste zero time in the online dating scene.

Do College Students Use Dating Apps?

College students are all about dating apps. You’d think they’d meet enough date prospects in class, at the dining hall, at bars or clubs, at parties, or at the gym, but they still have the energy to flirt online throughout the day as well.

About 60% of surveyed singles under 30 say they have used a dating app at some point in their lives, and in 2017, it officially became the most popular way for today’s singles to meet their spouse.

The post-digital generation isn’t squeamish about meeting people and arranging dates online.

Some stats indicate that Generation Z is more open to online matches than previous generations, too. These young singles say yes to 33% of their matches, which is 15% more than millennials and 20% more than Gen Xers.

Whether you’re looking for a significant other, a hookup, or just a distraction from work, a dating app could be the key to unlocking your dating potential and making you feel more attractive and confident than ever.

Do College Students Use Tinder?

Hell yes, they do. College students are some of the most active Tinder users around. In fact, 84% of college students say they prefer Tinder over any other dating app. Tinder is fast, it’s free, and it’s fun to use, so it makes sense that young people have rallied around it.

Are Tinder Top Picks Free?

With a free Tinder membership, you’ll receive one free Top Pick per day on the app. Tinder selects the most compatible profile according to your swiping history and date preferences, thus inviting users to swipe right on the cream of the crop.

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If you want to see all your Top Picks at once, you can upgrade to a Tinder Gold subscription. You can view the entire list of Top Picks anytime you want, and you also have the option to buy more Top Picks or expand your Top Picks to other cities when you’ve exhausted your original list of local matches.

Should I Join a Dating Site at 18?

That’s up to you to decide. At 18, you’ll be among the youngest in the mainstream dating scene, and that can mean a lot of wanted and unwanted attention. Some older singles may think you’re too immature to hang with them, while others may try to take advantage of you because of your young age and relative inexperience. I know that sucks, but it’s the reality of the situation.

Dating can be complicated as a teenager — even without the added stresses of online dating.

As a freshman in college, it can be tempting to jump blindly into the online dating pool and see what happens, but you should definitely do your homework first and choose a dating site or app that’s going to have your back. Read expert reviews, ask your friends for advice, and make the decision that feels right for you.

If you feel ready to date and understand the potential risks of meeting someone online, then go ahead and join a popular app like Tinder or Hinge. If you’re still in high school and not sure you want an adult dating experience, we’d recommend staying in your age group and check out free teen dating sites where you can chat without worrying about old singles creeping on you.

Earn Extra Credit on College Dating Apps

I didn’t really have a steady boyfriend — or a steady anything — in college, and that was just fine with me. I was focused on spending time with my friends and acing my tests, and dating was just something I did to let off steam in the margins. It gave me a nice distraction, but I didn’t take it seriously until I got a little older.

The college atmosphere is full of promise and opportunities, and that can help young people grow into who they want to be. Whatever their goals, all they need is the right resources to support and encourage them along the way. In the dating scene, the best resources come in app form.

Today, dating apps have become undeniably popular and powerful ways to meet singles who may have escaped your notice in class or at last weekend’s party. You can use location-based tools and real-time chatting to make a connection on the fly and see where it takes you. Have fun!

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