Launched in 2005, Academic Singles matchmaking website and the Academic Singles app have established themselves as a popular choice for educated singles. Its target audience comprises people for whom intellectual ability and educational achievement are desirable qualities in a date.
The site uses a scientific matching system to help people of similar academic and intellectual levels find each other. This system is based on an extensive and incisive questionnaire, designed to help you identify the kind of partner and relationship you’re interested in.
From the website’s homepage right through its data protection policy, there are very few details left to chance, which could be why Academic Singles boasts a 40% success rate. However, this isn’t a site for one-night stands or casual dating; the intellectuals and academics who use the site are looking for meaningful and long-lasting relationships.
With education an important part of the Academic Singles matchmaking website and the Academic Singles app, you’ll find that most of the users are aged between their mid-30s and mid-50s. However, unusually, the ratio of male and female users is fairly equal.
With almost 200,000 intellectuals and academics already subscribed and plenty of new sign-ups each day, Academic Singles is one of the most popular dating sites for educated singles. However, do you need a doctorate to use it? Our in-depth Academic Singles review puts it under the microscope.
If you are interested in more, be sure to check out our ranking table for the best professional dating sites!
Our Summary
Academic Singles is primarily aimed at those who’d rather not leave their love-lives entirely to chance. The scientific matching system might involve a longer-than-usual questionnaire, but it’s the best way to ensure that the dates you’re matched with are people you want to meet.
While the questionnaire does ask about your educational and professional achievements, the majority of the questions are used to assess your personality type and that of your ideal match. Once you’ve answered everything, you can upload a photo and choose whether other users can see it or not.
While it might sound a little elitist, Academic Singles isn’t a hotbed of snobbery. Instead, it’s a matchmaking website for educated singles who’d rather take their time finding the perfect match, and not go on endless, dead-end dates.
In addition to the personality test, the site gives you the opportunity to choose a pre-written question, which will be sent to your matches. These range from “What makes you laugh?” to “If we met at the bar, what would happen?” and add an element of fun to the whole process.
With most of Academic Singles’ users falling between 35 and 55, the site focuses more on the quality of matches, rather than the quantity. If you’re looking for a quick fix, look elsewhere. However, if you want a measured and smart approach to dating, it’s well worth a whirl.
🆓 Free services and paid-for services
Unlike many sites of this kind, both the Academic Singles matchmaking website and the Academic Singles app offer some good free services. While they don’t offer you access to all the site has to offer, there’s enough to give you a good grounding and see if you like the way it works.
Registering for Academic Singles is free, as is the personality test which all members, paying or not, take part in. In addition, you’ll have the facility to browse the profiles of other users and receive matches. However, if you want to take your dating to the next level, you’ll need a paid subscription.
Paying to join the ranks of intellectuals and academics who are members of Academic Singles gives you access to a range of further services. These include:
- Being able to see the photographs of those who you have been matched with. While intelligence and academia are important, there’s also physical attraction to put into the equation.
- The ability to send unlimited messages and read all messages that are sent to you.
- You can see who has visited your profile, allowing you to make the first move if you want to.
- Add users you like to your list of Favourites.
💰 Prices
While using the free services can be a good way to get to know the site and see how you feel, joining as a paid member is the only way to take advantage of all that’s on offer. There are three payment plans to choose from:
| Monthly Price | Total | |
| Basic (3 months) | R830,43 | R2491,29 |
| Classic (6 months) | R622,77 | R3736,62 |
| Committed (1 year) | R415,11 | R4981,33 |
Academic Singles – the little extras
Unlike other dating sites who offer their users little extras such as ‘winks’ and virtual gifts, Academic Singles doesn’t. This is because the focus of the site is to get users to engage with each other, rather than to make money from online fripperies.
User Profiles
With such an extensive questionnaire, you might not be surprised to find that users’ profiles are far more informative than those you’d find on regular dating sites. In addition, your level of compatibility with each user is clearly shown, giving you a good idea whether you’re barking up the right tree or not.
How to pay
Oddly, for a site that’s used by (and possibly set up by) intellectuals and academics, Academic Singles only offers one payment method: credit card. Be aware that, once you’ve signed up as a paid member, memberships auto-renew, according to the type of package you’ve bought.
This means that if you’ve signed up for a three-month package, you’ll automatically be charged for another three-month subscription unless you cancel. The same goes for both the Classic and Committed membership packages.
💡 How to reduce costs at Academic Singles?
With no extras, such as ‘winks’ or virtual gifts to worry about, there’s no real way to minimise the costs of this matchmaking website. Using the free services is a good starter, but a paid membership is the only real option if you want to take a serious step towards finding a match.
If you’re going to be a long-term user, then subscribing to the Committed package is the only way to keep the costs down, with membership costing R415,32 less per month than the cost of a Basic membership package.
📊 Membership Structure – a more discerning dating site
Academic Singles makes no bones about the fact that it caters solely for educated singles looking for a match of similar intellectual abilities. As a result, you’ll find that the members tend to be on the older side when compared to those on other sites. Typically, members are between 35 and 55.
With a slightly more circumspect approach to dating, there’s a fairly even split between men and women, with 49% of users being female and 51% being male. Most users have achieved a good standard of education and most are looking for intellectual, as well as physical, matches.
If there’s a niggle to be had, it might be that not all users fill in their profile information and many use stock photos as opposed to genuine pictures. However, for those who favour personality and intelligence, this needn’t be a problem.
International reach
Academic Singles operates in several different countries, with around 40,000 members hailing from South Africa. Most members are Taiwanese, followed by the French in second place. Using your filters, you can set the parameters of how far you’ll travel to meet a date.
✍️ Registration
Time needed: 8 minutes.
Because Academic Singles aims itself at educated singles, the registration process is much lengthier than you might expect from other dating sites. Leave at least a quarter of an hour for the questionnaire. However, the registration process can be broken down into five easy steps:
- First thing First:
Go to the homepage and state your gender and the gender of the match you’re looking for.
- Sign up
Add your email address and either choose your own password or use the one suggested by the site.
- Registering is free
Hit ‘Register for Free’.
- Fill out the questionnaire
You’ll be taken to the questionnaire, which will take around 15 minutes to fill out.
- Check out your profile
Once you’re finished, you’ll be taken to your newly-created profile page and you can begin looking for matches.
The scientific matching system relies on complete honesty to find you a compatible match. Your matches won’t see your answers, so go for the truth rather than trying to give answers that you think other users want to see.
📱 User-friendliness and the app
One of the main focal points of our in-depth Academic Singles review was the site’s ease-of-use qualities. While the mainstay might be intellectuals and academics, even the biggest brains can struggle with technology.
Happily, we’re pleased to report that Academic Singles is very user-friendly, with plenty of tips to help you along the way. The layout is clear, clean and simple, with everything you need to navigate your way around, right in front of you.
Similarly, the Academic Singles app is minimalistic, giving you an equally easy online experience. To more tech-savvy users, it might appear a bit basic, but it still does exactly what it says on the tin.
✉️ Contacting users
Sending messages is free for women, while men must pay for the service. This is to encourage online safety and prevent women from being stalked or harassed.
If you’re female or a paid-up member, messaging is easy. Click on the user’s profile that has caught your eye and then select the ‘chat’ icon. From there, it’s the same as sending an email.
👍 Pros and cons 👎
What we like
- Free registration
- An intelligent personality test
- Free messaging for female users
What we don’t like
- Auto-renewal of subscriptions
- Cancellation can only be through a written letter or fax
- A single method of payment
🙋 FAQs
Membership to Academic Singles can only be cancelled by written letter or by sending a message via fax. There is no online facility through which to cancel your subscription.
Academic Singles is a matchmaking website for educated singles. Most of its users are interested in their matches’ intellectual and academic abilities, as much as their appearance. Most of the users are intellectuals and academics aged between 35 and 55.
What sets this site apart from other more traditional dating sites is its use of an extensive questionnaire designed to ensure that you are matched with compatible personality types. You can set other parameters, such as how far you are prepared to travel for a date, from your profile page.
You can contact Academic Singles at: [email protected]
ℹ️ Company information
Website: www.academicsingles.co.za
Company headquarters:
Academic Singles AU S.à.r.l.
291, Route d’Arlon
1150 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Email: [email protected]
