Cornellians Discover T eir Perfect Match Cupid’s bow strikes campus again

MATCH

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The team also made modifications to the survey’s format, with consideration for both convenience and accessibility. “We made the site a lot more mobile-friendly because we got feedback from a lot of users that they like taking it on their phone,” said Nick Varelas ’25, a member of Perfect Match.

Additionally, to eliminate users’ privacy concerns, the site pledged full anonymity of user’s survey answers.

“[Perfect Match] wanted to make extra sure this year that the data we got was all anonymized immediately, that there was no way for anyone online to acquire the data,” Katz said.

“We made the site a lot more mobile-friendly because we got feedback from a lot of users that they like taking it on their phone.”

Nick Varelas ’25 but also because I was interested in seeing how the algorithm worked out and I wanted to make friends,” said Muna Mohammed ’24.

Overall, the Perfect Match team is thrilled to launch its survey and is hoping to contribute to the development of meaningful connections throughout the Cornell community.

Cornellians, too, are eager to see their Perfect Match this year.

Though she has not yet filled out the survey this year, Mohammed expressed contentment with her past experiences.

“I stayed friends with all of my matches last year,” Mohammed said. “I’m excited to see how this year turns out.”

According to Stephanie Lopez ’23, students may struggle to find compatible companions in a large community like Cornell — however, Perfect Match sorts students based on their interests and preferences, which makes way for an entertaining networking opportunity as well.

“Even if you don’t have luck finding a partner through Perfect Match, it’s still a great way to meet new people,” Lopez said. “I was able to meet people that had a lot in common with me, and that worked out in a different way.”

AppDev is divided into five different subteams, each focused on one part of the app development process, from product design to marketing. After apps are chosen to be developed, a pod team of around ten students, composed of students from each subteam and a product manager, is created. Apps are developed for both Android and iOS, where frontend teams work on the user experience. Other students focus on backend work, which entails getting the correct data from servers to eventually be displayed to users.

According to Li, teams then set goals to launch the app, creating a product with the core features to function. Later on, more features can be added as user feedback — a key component to AppDev’s work — is received.

“We want to get the app out and into people’s hands so we can start creating a cycle of feedback,” Li said. “Once we have that pipeline established, we can continuously improve our existing features and come up with new ones that people request.”

The team is also hoping to launch two new apps by the end of the spring semester. Scooped is a rideshare app that will eventually allow students to connect with others traveling to the same locations over breaks to lower travel expenses. Resell is a secondhand marketplace app where students will soon be able to sell old items such as clothes or school related items such as iClickers.

According to Solomon, because these apps are designed specifically for Cornell students, they set themselves apart from other products with similar premises like Uber or Facebook

Noah Solomon ’24

Marketplace by having a stronger connection to the community.

“One of the benefits of all our apps is they’re all specifically for Cornell students,” Solomon said. “So even though there might exist apps out there that are trying to solve these problems across the country or the world, we have the benefit of seeing how they impact students here.”

In the future, Li hopes that the team can continue to create apps that serve the Cornell community while improving the maintenance policies for existing apps. He also hopes that the team will provide AppDev members with the opportunity to create products they’re passionate about.

“My vision for the ideal AppDev future is one where everybody is placed on a pod in a position where they feel empowered to grow using a technology that they’re passionate about,” Li said. “A more concrete vision I have is just all of our apps being super useful to the students.”

“There are definitely pros and cons to attending a big school,” said Daniel Russo ’24. “You can meet a lot of people, but it’s also difficult to stay connected because the social scene here is busy. Perfect Match does a good job making the connections.”

Russo appreciates Perfect Match’s multifaceted matching algorithm, which considers personalities, lifestyles and preferences for a romantic partner.

According to Russo, Perfect Match demonstrates reliability in its decisions.

Some students reflected on their past experiences with Perfect Match, which was first introduced in 2019. While the main intent of Perfect Match is to form romantic relationships, it is also commonly used to build friendships

“I thought it would be fun to fill out, not only because I wanted to find a particular match

Sherry Liao ’25, who does not plan to participate in Perfect Match, referred to the rigorous coursework as a barrier to her romantic life.

“Work from my classes takes a lot of time out of my day,” Liao said. “I think a lot of students prioritize academic success over relationships, but also because they simply don’t have the time to spend with a significant other.”

While Cornell’s dating scene is not so robust due to its busy students, Liao continued, efforts such as Perfect Match and other dating services are a helpful and fun addition to campus life.

Perfect Match closes its survey on Feb. 13 at noon, and Varelas urges students to fill it out before the deadline.

Erin Yoon can be reached at eyoon@cornellsun.com

Rachel Kodysh can be reached at rjk243@cornell.edu