The thrill of a dating app relies on an algorithm that can provide variety—a unique face, a different sequence of pre-selected hobbies, a new witty reply to the same cookie-cutter prompt.

In a small town, though, it feels virtually impossible for the algorithm to offer up a new match. After swiping left on the few automated suggestions, you have—those being your TA, your lab partner and an unsuccessful talking stage from the last time you tried to use Tinder—what should feel like an ocean of possibility feels more like a bucket with a hole in the bottom. 

No matter how many times you try to convince yourself that the bucket won’t leak on your third try, that maybe at least a drop will stay this time, all you do is wind up filling it with the same seeping water from the same shallow dating pool. 

And your lab partner liked your bucket’s profile and wants to talk about it, too. Embarrassing.

The reality is that online dating just isn’t the same at Nicholls. How are Colonels supposed to meet their one true love in a town of 15,000, with only a third of that population attending college?

Most respondents seemed to share that sentiment, as per their answers to The Nicholls Worth’s aptly-named survey, Is Love in the Air at Nicholls?

Answers about the overall dating experience varied—“Up and down, but smooth in the end” said an anonymous surveyor.

“Interesting but unsuccessful,” said an art education junior.

“I got ghosted, man. Either that, or my match doesn’t exist and the app just paired me up with a bot,” said a mass communications junior.

Naturally, online dating users across the nation in towns both small and large are just as divided as those on Nicholls’ campus. According to the Pew Research Center, 35% of users reported a somewhat negative experience during online dating, with a nearly equal 39% reporting a somewhat positive experience.

Eleven percent reported a very negative experience. Fourteen percent reported a very positive experience.

80% of respondents of The Nicholls Worth’s survey chose Hinge as their dating app of choice, though many found that the dating pool was extremely local across all apps. Most suggestions seemed to be from the Houma-Thibodaux area, with a broader variety of people in major, distant cities.

When asked if looking for love online was the way to go at Nicholls despite their personal experiences, though, the answer was clear across the board.

“No way,” said another anonymous surveyor.

Does that mean that love is dead at Nicholls? Can The Nicholls Worth officially report that there is no hope for all of the companionless Colonels on campus?

Not quite.

While the consensus seems to be that online dating isn’t the most successful way to search for love at Nicholls, it can provide insight into whether or not someone on campus—such as your campus crush, for example—is open to romance.

“It’s nice to at least see if they are interested on the apps,” said an anonymous senior.

Digital dating isn’t the only way to find romance on campus, either. Multiple respondents cited the Bollinger Student Union or Galliano Dining Hall as places to first make connections.

Whether you decide to use dating apps or to shoot your shot in person, one piece of anonymous advice is applicable to any Colonel searching for connection.

“Just be confident and go for it.”