College: Where students fresh out of high school are dropped in the middle of a random city in order to fend for themselves for the next four years. While you’re here you’re expected to study (and party) hard, grow as a person, make friends for a lifetime and, if your family is traditional enough, find a soulmate!

Thanks to the age of technology, there’s a whole world of apps that are designed to bring people together for all kinds of purposes. Not to worry, 4E has delved (maybe a little too deep) into the world of dating apps and has resurfaced with our top 5, in hopes that boys and girls alike can find love in a hopeless place (like a Lau cubicle). Here we go!

1. Tinder. The holy grail/mother of all dating apps that is Tinder claims the number 1 spot because it was designed specifically with the college student in mind. In August 2012, Tinder was first piloted at the University of Southern California, and has since blown up around the country. Don’t feel like being a contributing member of society but want to boost your self esteem? Tinder allows you to search from men and women in your area and between your choice of age range, and if you like their profile, you can swipe right. A couple of hours on this bad boy and you’ll be raking enough matches to make you feel like you actually did something productive with your day.
2. Grindr. Despite the suggestive name, the idea behind Grindr is actually  pretty genius. Grindr, like Tinder, is location based, but is catered to males specifically. So if you’re a guy looking for someone to hang out, or go on a date with, then this is definitely your app! What we like about it is that guys can only see the information you want them to see, so you don’t have to worry about the creepy stalker types that want to find out where you live (Degrassi flashbacks, anyone?). The makers of Grindr also make it clear that this app isn’t just for dating, so if you just want a friend, you’re welcome too! If you are looking for a date however, there are more than 5 million guys on this app, so you’ll be sure to have your hands full searching! 
3. Cuddlr. In a previous 4E post, we described who we would want to match with on Cuddlr just because the idea seemed so perfect, and we still stand by it. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock and missed that post, Cuddlr is a (surprise!) location based app designed not for dating, but for cuddling (which could eventually turn into dating if you cuddle enough). You read correctly, based on who is near you, Cuddlr allows you to meet up with someone and share a cuddle- no strings attached. With this app you don’t have to worry about anyone having intentions other than sharing a cuddle, so just in case Bradley Cooper or your boyfriend pillow are unavailable, this app is perfect for you! 
4. Coffee Meets Bagel. This app right here is for all you ladies who are tired of wondering where the good guys are, or so the website says. We must confess, the name was what brought us to this app. Coffee? Bagels? Sign us up! With this app, ladies are given one “Bagel” at noon and can decide on whether to “Like” or “Pass” someone else’s bagel. Just to clarify, no your picture is not a bagel. This app is designed for busy young professionals who want to spice up their coffee breaks, hence the name coffee meets bagel. It’s perfect for the busy Georgetown woman who doesn’t have hours to spend swiping or would rather watch Netflix. 
5. DateMySchool. We must admit,  we were kind of skeptical about this one when we first heard about it. We asked ourselves, “would we want to date specifically someone from Georgetown? What if it doesn’t work out and we have Econ together???” But then we looked closer and saw that anyone with an “.edu” address could sign up, and that you could filter your searches by school, departments, etc. If you’re big on privacy, a plus is that DateMySchool makes you invisible to people who are in the same school or department as you by default – that way you don’t have to worry about Eric from OPIM knowing that you’re stalking him online. If you want to make yourself visible you can change this in your privacy settings anytime. With this app, the college world is your oyster! 

There you have it readers, the wonderful world of dating apps! The world is yours folks and now you have no excuse to not have a significant other to bring home for your next family reunion!

Photos: eduinreview.com, huffingtonpost.com, wikipedia.org, digitaltrends.com, coffeemeetsbagel.com, thebray.com