Tinder. Love it, hate it, make fun of it, but we all know it—and a good majority of us have it. Working with their college student demographics, Tinder has created a new feature on the app: Tinder University, where you can verify your student email and match with other students around you.
Tinder has continually added features like being able to include your favorite song, your Spotify top hits, and even your Instagram, but their newest feature is one that I think I can get behind.
When I first got Tinder, I just laughed at it and used it as a fun way to procrastinate. But having the app on and off for ten months, I’ve come to use the app to date (mostly unsuccessfully, but still).
It’s not that hard to get matches on Tinder, but the quality of those matches hasn’t always been the best. My best matches have been with other students, so this option is one I can see many students using.
The premise of the app is still the same, anyone over 18 can create a profile with criteria based on age range, sexual orientation and proximity of matches. When you register your student email, you are given a tag on your profile with the initials of your school, and your potential matches are now all or mostly students. Based on your preferences, you are given the option to show either more or less students.
In a study done by LendEDU with 9,761 students surveyed, 72 percent of students said they have used Tinder before, but only 22 percent of students have used it for its most common use: to hook up with people.
The feature comes from Tinder staff wanting users to make the most of the app, and for students, that means making matches that fit you better.
Since ‘enrolling’ in Tinder University two weeks ago I have gotten 45 matches and have talked with 25 of them. I think it’s safe to say that most matches never turn into conversations or dates, which is definitely the case for me. Since the update, I have talked to more of my matches. I previously only talked to about a fourth of my matches.
What really signifies a decent match to me is if I talk to a match outside of the app, like giving my number or Snapchat. I rarely give out my number, but I’ve done it twice in the past week. I’m shook.
However, with most advantages come disadvantages, and Tinder University has its own. Though you are matching with other students and it’s great, your matches aren’t all close to you. You can choose the mile radius of matches, and a few of the matches I’ve gotten are out of that radius.
I have had matches as far away as Bowling Green State University, which is 130 miles away from Capital. The matches are greatly improved, but not many college students have a car or the time to drive two hours to go on a date with a match, and it isn’t all that practical.
Another disadvantage, especially when it come to Capital, is that you match with a lot more students from your university. Normally, this wouldn’t be a bad thing, but Capital is such a small school, and it can be awkward. If you have a bad date with someone from Capital, there’s a very good chance you will have to see them again.
Overall, I think Tinder knows what they’re doing. With over 50 million users, over a billion matches and $121 million coming in from subscriptions alone (businessofapps.com), Tinder has online dating in the bag. Tinder University was a strategic, smart move on Tinder’s part, and I think the benefits heavily outweigh the costs.
