The best dating apps for recent college grads

While online dating sites like Match.com and OKCupid emerged in the early 2000s and apps like Zoosk and Grindr followed, Tinder truly changed the online dating game with the introduction of the swipe in 2012.

Recent grads have never dated in a world without dating apps, and the majority of them weren’t in the dating pool prior to the “swipe.” Now, Tinder has reached a point where 350 million swipes happen a day on the app. Swiping through profiles and meeting people through an app is completely routine among Gen Z.

“I would say all of my single friends are at least on one of the apps,” New York-based Emma Schwartz said. She’s on Raya and Hinge but has tried Bumble and The Lox Club as well. On Raya, she says, nothing really happens beyond the mutual like, whereas she views Hinge as the app where you can connect with someone to chat, meet up with, and date.

The dating app stigma isn’t gone, it’s different

While online dating or meeting potential partners through an app for Gen Z college graduates is not looked down upon like it has been for older generations, they’re not exempt from any shame.

“Among people my age, the stigma is definitely gone in terms of how you meet your significant other,” Sam Sharon, a Boston University graduate said. There is a bit of a judgment, however, around what apps people use, he says. “There are some apps where people will say something like, “Really? You met on OKCupid?” (Yikes.)

Sharon and his girlfriend met five years ago on Bumble while they were still in college. They live together now and often discuss the apps with their single friends, who are primarily using Hinge and Bumble.

Interestingly, the pair is attending a wedding of a couple who met on an app that has seemingly been deemed irrelevant or uncool as their nuptial invites trade Plenty Of Fish for the more acceptable Hinge.

Hinge, on the other hand, is the favorite by a long shot. “The reason why I'm using Hinge is because I know all of my friends from home and here and people of all different backgrounds are on it,” Alsion Gmerek, an Florida State University graduate living in Atlanta, GA, said.

Graduating (and dating) in a global pandemic

Dating has never been regarded as easy. As such, oftentimes young adults look to their peers, those a little older – yet close in age – and even to their parents for guidance and an example of how to navigate it. However, there weren't clear examples for them – or anyone else, for that matter – to look to during the period of isolation following March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the years since. Hinge even coined the term FODA, or Fear of Dating, Again, as COVID restrictions began to lift nationwide.

In February 2021, a survey of 1000 college students found that those students that were dating had an atypical dating experience in their very formative years. About a quarter of students said they dated less during the pandemic than prior, while it didn’t change for nearly 70%. Interestingly, 20% of them said they were spending more time on dating apps and an equal amount said they were doing the opposite and spending less.

Those that were dating had to adjust to new ways of meeting new people. About one in six students tried to keep dates outdoors, while 14% had dates at their homes, and half of that kept it virtual. There was substantially less meeting new people in bars or more typical in-person ways because a lot of those activities either weren’t available or were considered unsafe.

Obviously, this informed recent grads' dating lives post-graduation. During college, and when it wasn’t remote, there was more available community — particularly if the dating pool was primarily students’ classmates. While she blames watching too much true crime, Gmerek said, “What’s been a little intimidating about dating in the ‘real world’ is it can be a little scary meeting people from an app.” She said features that verify users’ faces are helpful, which can be found on Hinge and Bumble.

Recent college grads are trying out a lot of apps, but they’re only really enjoying a few. Subsequently, it’s also the reason other popular apps are being overlooked by new grads. For example, those that were on Raya said it was more for the validation of having their application accepted and that no one was really connecting on it. Ultimately, Hinge’s features, like its prompts, make it a favorite, despite multiple users saying those that use the voice note feature gave them the ick.

Here are the best apps for recent college grads.