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Our Favorite Dating Sites |
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Top Dating Categories |
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CollegeLuv: Full Review |
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Pro Rating :
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User Ratings :
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Avg. Rating :
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About CollegeLuv |
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URL
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Year Started
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2003
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Location
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United States of America
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Languages
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English
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Short Description
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Another niche site owned by MatchNet, combines the same standard features of many of its other dating sites, with a few additional questions that allow you to tailor your search to particular areas of the country or college campuses. is obviously a US-based site, but it has a surprisingly diverse membership from campuses across the country, as well as a few in Canada and overseas. The college-aged membership is just over 500,000 and has grown at a steady, if not breakneck, pace.
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Number of Members
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500,000
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Overall Rating
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is of average quality, with the low point being the photos and the high point being the chat rooms. It's too hard to predict how this one will pan out in the future, but it has potential. If it's going to succeed, MatchNet needs to add features that target the college crowd. They've done it with other sites, so they should be able to do it with .
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CollegeLuv Categories & Features |
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Relationships
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Alternative
Friendship
Pen Pals
Romance
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Ethnicities
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All
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Finding Your Match
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Online indicator
Photo Gallery
Search (Advanced)
Search by location
Search (Quick)
Smart Matching
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Contacting Members
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E-mail
Instant messaging
Online Chat
Virtual kiss (Icebreakers)
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CollegeLuv Dating Service Review |
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The Company
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is owned by MatchNet, a solid company that specializes in niche markets. If handled properly, their products have the potential to become something great, but it's too soon to tell. The numbers (500,000+), however, are promising.
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Site Navigation
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features simple navigation, a clean collegiate look and an average ease of use. There are a few places where it seems like you should be able to move back and forth more quickly. The slow load isn't completely unexpected on a fledgling site like .
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Site Response Speed
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Average
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Sign-Up Process
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's free sign-up with no need for a credit card allows you quick access to searches, etc. The one pitfall is the photos - it can take up to three days to get your photo posted with your profile. If you decide to become a paying member, you can pay in a variety of ways and the process is easy. If you are looking for added safety, you won't mind the slight time lag for your detailed profile essays to be posted - does review everything for objectionable material, so they aren't making an empty promise.
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Breadth of Services
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Basics without much in the way of frills. is a site limited by both its niche and its recent emergence, so give it the chance to grow and you may be pleasantly surprised in a year or two.
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User Base
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Interestingly, may be skewed slightly toward minority members, although this is only an impression. It's hard to tell without demographics and the reason is anyone's guess. 's members are NOT just the people who stay in all night studying or by-pass parties for esoteric discussions late at night. They run the gamut from rugby stars to eggheads.
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User Experience
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is not bad for a newbie site and the chat room was always busy. What better way to take a 15-minute study break without leaving your room during finals week? Hey, it sure beats the three feet of snow in Michigan.
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Customer Service
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's FAQ's are detailed and explain things very clearly. In fact, if you're in college and can't figure out the problem after reading the help section, you're likely there by mistake. 's customer service is pleasant and responsive, answering the phone 24/7, with a bit of a slow-down in response time during extremely busy periods.
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Customer Service Hours
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Hours of Operation: 24/7
Telephone: 1-888-854-3803
Email: comments@CollegeLuv.com
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Registration Options
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Registration Procedure
FREE to register
Quick registration
Online help
Tips and examples
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Additional Services
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Automatic renewal
Hide profile option
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Long Description
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's layout is similar to most MatchNet sites, with dating profiles that include a photo, some pertinent details and the opportunity to write an essay about yourself and what you're looking for. 'a profiles are tailored to college life, with areas to put your major, extracurricular activities and what you like to do to relax outside of classes. The essays (e.g. "Funniest thing about me is...") are optional, but most members fill them all out and they are usually quite revealing about a member's personality. Hey, these are college students - they know how to write and they take the time to keep it interesting in most cases!
Sign up at to meet college co-eds
's free membership includes your profile and a photo along with complete browsing capabilities. You can browse by country, state, ZIP code or a particular college or university. The site touts itself as another way to meet students at your own college as well as a way to hook up online. Hmm...would I really spend the night looking online for someone who could be in the next dorm or would I just go out on a Saturday night and hit a few parties? Hard to tell. If you're looking for chat partners and online conversation, though, is a site with real possibilities for college students. After all, you can find someone halfway across the country who's also an econ major in his or her sophomore year to commiserate with if you want to.
Hot list and chat with your matches
You can "hot list" profiles you like, email other members and chat. The icons along the bottom of each profile when browsing are prominently displayed and the online indicator flashes so you will know right away if someone's available for chatting. You can chat and use 's other content, such as polls and articles, without being a paying member. You can also get unlimited emails, but you can't respond through until you've paid the monthly membership fee.
Extras: sparse for a college dating site seeking to carve a niche
doesn't offer much in the way of current polls and extra articles, however, and the articles about online dating safety are similar to those on all other MatchNet sites. Safety is obviously taken seriously at , however, as they do review all essays and photos before they are posted to a profile. Any profanity, offensive language or anything that could indicate hustling is banned from . The customer service reps who review the submissions seem to do a very good job.
Chat away your Saturday night at
On a weeknight, there may be 500 - 1,000 members chatting or browsing online. Weekends show a real spike, especially late at night (as in, after the frat parties have closed down and everyone's up late surfing). You can always "tease" someone if you are interested in them but don't want to send an entire email. This alerts them that you're interested and puts it on them to either respond or ignore you. It does away with some of the sting of potential rejection, since you haven't invested as much of yourself in a tease. The help section at is the same as at other MatchNet sites - it lists detailed answers to the top ten questions users have and provides helpful suggestions and tips for profiles and photo uploads. Customer service is available by email or by telephone 24 hours a day, but it can take a while for them to answer the phone on a busy weekend. (Who knew?)
's main caveat: subpar personals photos
's look is a generic version of other MatchNet sites, right down to the browsed profiles being listed 10-12 to a page with photo thumbnail on the left and key stats on the right. To see the complete profile, just click on the headline. One difference is the quality of the photos. Nearly all of them are either blurred or somewhat distorted; it's as though someone stretched some of the faces just slightly (think Silly Putty and comic strips). This seems to be an internal glitch, as it's across nearly all photos and only appears on . The logo for looks just like a college pennant and the site strives to keep focused on only college membership, NOT older people scamming for young things. They advertise on the site as a "place to meet more cool students." They even state that they "aren't here to replace your campus social life. Oh, no. We're simply here to give you more ways to connect with other students..." is also politically correct, advising members to "take a leap" and learn about members from other cultures, religious backgrounds and lifestyles. If you prefer to do this from the safety of your dorm room, this is a viable option. The suggestion to "check out the scene from class," probably sounded "cool" (a favorite word at ) at the time they wrote it, but it won't endear them to college profs who have a hard enough time getting students to pay attention without college dating websites invading the classroom through laptops.
is a strong college dating site
There are no banner ads at , no links to annoying or questionable sites and it is relatively bug-free. To be fair to , the membership of just over 500,000 is impressive since it was launched so recently, in April of 2003. With so little time under its belt, it remains to be seen if college dating sites will take off like so many other internet dating niche groups have. There does seem to be more use of the chat rooms here than on other MatchNet sites, and if invests some money in posting a college-oriented newsletter or links, they have a good chance of riding the wave of internet personals popularity.
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CollegeLuv Pros & Cons |
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Pros
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is kept clean, safe and above-board. This really is a college dating website and they strive to keep it that way.
The chat rooms are usually busy.
The price is right, even if you're a college student trying to save beer money.
's profiles are interesting and the fact that you can search by major or by particular college or university will appeal to most students.
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Cons
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is a start-up, so it's hard to tell how fast it will grow.
The photo quality is poor, especially on the thumbnails.
is pretty basic and upgrading the content should be a goal for the future.
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CollegeLuv Plans Offered |
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Pricing
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$14.95 for 1 month
$29.95 for 3 months
With a 3 month minimum, a $9.95/month renewal rate
Full access to : you can initiate emails and instant messaging and perform more detailed searches
You can post additional photos
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Site Freebies
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Free profile and the ability to post up to three photos. You can respond to emails and IM's sent to you, but you can't initiate them.
Chat rooms
"Teases"
Blocking features
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