Summer is fast approaching, and it can be super fun to have a summer fling. But many collegiettes struggle with dating apps and finding that special someone—whether it be just for a hookup or for the long haul. HC dug up the best tips from students at Northwestern who are total pros on Tinder, Her, Bumble and Friendsy.
Go with the flow.
Try to be positive about your experiences, but set expectations low. If it doesn’t work out, don’t worry. “Go in with low expectations and don’t stress about it. It makes it easier for you to be pleasantly surprised,” says Catherine. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t click with the first person you meet (or several people after) and keep trying!
Have a back-up plan.
Meeting strangers can be intimidating, so NU grad Camille recommends always having a way to get out of the date if things go sour. “Try having a friend call you an hour in and drop a code word so you can get out!”
Know what you want—and pursue it.
Having an idea of what you want out of the app is a great start, but communication is key. After only two dates Julia found her boyfriend. She says, “I think for us something that helped is that we were pretty clear on what we wanted from really early on.”
Meet in person!
“You can quickly tell from a Tinder profile if you think they’re attractive and if you think you like them as a person, but that doesn’t tell you much about what kind of chemistry you have.” says Jacqui, who met her girlfriend on the app. “I’ve met lots of great women on Tinder, but I was never really able to tell how interested I was in someone until I met them in person.”
Try another app.
While Tinder might be some people’s go-to, for the LGBTQ community, other apps like Her might be a better bet. “I think Her had more women who were seriously seeking other women which made it more successful for me,” says Isabella. “I went in with pretty low expectations when I first met my now girlfriend, but I think we just happened to click and now its been 8 months!”
Sometimes, it’s just luck.
While we’d like to think that if you follow some sort of guideline, you’re guaranteed to find your match, it can be a total toss-up whether it takes two dates or 50 to find someone you click with. Jamie found her boyfriend of two and a half years through the dating app Friendsy, and says, “Meeting my boyfriend was completely by chance. I’m not a religious person (my boyfriend is a devout Catholic) but getting so randomly matched with him has made me think a lot about how sometimes things are just meant to be.”