The evergrowing number of dating websites has made it difficult to decide which one to join. Since the majority of the sites are open to anyone with Internet access, it can be somewhat frightening to try to get to know a stranger.

But people looking for romance don’t have to venture too far beyond their comfort zone with Date My School, an online platform to help students and alumni discover new but not completely foreign people. DMS is not just for finding dates, but shares characteristics with other popular social networks.

Columbia University students Jean Meyer and Balazs Alexa created DMS after experiencing difficulty connecting with other students in their department. The site launched at Columbia University Nov. 2010 and within a week had almost 1,300 members sign up. DMS was only open to Columbia University students until Dec. 2010 when NYU was added to the database.    

DMS has since branched out to over 350 schools and on Aug. 17, launched N.C. State’s access to the network. The site now has over 31,000 members.

Users may set up their profile to be as private or as public as they choose. The site contains a private inbox and instant messaging features. DMS also allows users to “Like” someone, which is a flirty hint, “Save” someone, which adds them to the users favorites, and notifies the user when others are online. Users can also post messages on others’ profiles.

DateMySchool is different from other dating websites in the sense of its requirements for membership. According to DMS’s public relations representative, Melanie Wallner, only students and alumni with active school email accounts may join the site. This allows users to feel safer when interacting with other users.