Registering for Academic Singles doesn’t cost anything. However, in order to enjoy it and really take advantage of the online dating site, you do need to buy a premium membership. It’s important to note that your membership will be renewed automatically. The only way to change that is to cancel your membership by faxing your cancellation to customer service.

If you’d like to explore the site a bit before committing to a membership, you can fill out your profile, take a personality test and receive a personality analysis. You can also browse matches, and send one message for free. If you’d like to continue benefiting from the dating site, you’ll need to pay for a premium membership, which will allow you to send unlimited messages and stay anonymous for as long as you wish. The premium membership costs are as follows:

3 months

Enjoy premium membership for 3 months for a price of $39.99 a month.

6 months

Enjoy premium membership for 6 months for a price of $29.99 a month.

12 months

Enjoy premium membership for 12 months for a price of $19.99 a month.

There are two main features in the dating site Academic Singles which differentiates it from many of the other online dating sites. First of all, as you probably guessed by the name, it’s meant to match people with higher education. Second of all, dating-hopefuls on Academic Singles need to rely heavily on their matches’ evaluated personality traits, rather than trying to interpret their matches’ personality based on what they wrote about themselves.

Signing up for Academic Singles is simple and takes under 15 minutes. You go through several pages of multiple choice questions, which you must fill out. Topics range from your level of trust in relationships, to your sense of adventure. You also need to answer some questions about what you’re looking for in a partner and how your friends would describe you. Once you’re done filling out the questionnaire, you’re almost ready to begin browsing matches. Finally, you’ll be asked to fill out your basic information, confirm your email address, and your signup is complete!

Academic Singles seems to take a simplistic approach to the otherwise complicated world of online dating. They keep things short and sweet. They’re more old-fashioned in the sense that there are no extra features such as swiping through a pool of potential matches. On this dating site your only real option is messaging , so you need to take things from there when you match with someone. There are no gifts, winks, or any quirks like that. If you’d like to be able to get a sense of what a match is about from their profile (before communicating with them), this site may not be the best option for you. If you’re willing to give more people a shot and find out more about them through messaging, you’ll be pleased with Academic Singles.

Algorithmic Matching System

Matching is done through their algorithm – you take a personality test (a series of questions about your likes and dislikes in a partner) and are given an evaluation. The site then suggests people that may be compatible with you based on this evaluation, and you could compare your evaluation to theirs to see if they could be suitable for you.

Your Profile

Once you’re finished with the initial signup process, you should answer some more questions about yourself in order to complete your profile. Profiles on Academic Singles are straight to the point. You don’t get much of a chance to tell about yourself or what you’re looking for. You’ll need to keep it short, as your only place to write is the “About Me” section, which has a 200-character limit. You could think of that section as more of a tagline.

Personality Test

As previously mentioned, your personality evaluation is how matches can determine whether they’d like to message you (aside from your photos, of course) – so you should answer as thoughtfully as possible in order to best represent yourself. Though it is recommended for you to complete all of the questions so that you can be evaluated more accurately, you’ll be automatically evaluated after you complete just the initial questions you were asked during registration. The rest of the questions relate to your views, values, and lifestyle. You’ll be asked about your goals and habits, the importance of faithfulness in relationships, and the importance of creativity. Be sure to save each section, otherwise the data will be lost. You will also need to rate different types of food, whereas on most sites you would just be asked to name your favorite type of food. Academic Singles seems to be a fan of scales, for example: “Rate how much you like Indian food from 1 to 6.” Your personality traits will then be evaluated (surprisingly accurately) on a scale: rationality vs. emotionality, tradition vs. innovation, distance vs. attachment and observation vs. feeling.

Search & Matches

You can change your search criteria based on basic information and matches will show up according to your preferences.

Messaging and Connecting

As previously stated, a premium membership will give you unlimited messaging capabilities. You can also click a button to ask your match for further details (for example, for them to complete more questions related to their values).

Academic Singles does not mention safety at any length though it does display that it is a secure site. While the site is very user-friendly and easy to understand, there doesn’t seem any way to contact a customer support team if needed.