In the 21st century, online dating has become a viable alternative to the traditional forms of meeting people to which most individuals are already accustomed to. Jean Meyer and Balazs Alexa have taken the business model and made their site, “DateMySchool.com,” solely for the use of college students and alumni.

The site is open to over 1,000 four-year colleges and universities all over the nation and it has become the largest online dating platform available for the student demographic, according to Alexa. It also was the winner of About.com’s 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards for ‘Best College Dating Site.’

“Jean and I were getting our MBA’s at Columbia University, and a woman in the nursing department complained about how hard it was to meet guys outside of her department, which was mostly female,” Alexa said. “We didn’t find a better solution out there, so we created ‘Date My School’ to help students and alumni safely and efficiently discover new people on campus and campuses.”

DMS might be similar to Facebook, but according to Alexa, it is the exact opposite of Facebook because it stays exclusive to only students and alumni. Interested students can only use their college email addresses when they register and alumni are verified through databases, to keep the site from frauds or having fake profiles. Members have the option to remain anonymous and they can filter out schools, departments, age range and individuals so that only certain people will have access to their profiles. DMS also provides safety tips for both online and offline activities and provides customer service in which they reply back within a 24-hour time frame.

As far as interaction goes, DMS provides different ways that members can communicate directly and
indirectly with each other. They can directly contact another student by sending inbox messages or via instant messaging/chatting, just like Facebook.

Students can indirectly talk to each other by posting on an interactive message board, which eliminates the awkwardness of approaching someone, according to Alexa.

DMS also has a Q&A function where users can ask questions and then compare the answers to see if they have any commonalities between each other. In addition, a search engine helps students search for specific types of people based on academic, geographic and personal backgrounds.

“Whether for dating, relational or study purposes, DMS is the go-to platform to discover new people on campus and campuses nearby in a safe and efficient way,” Alexa said.