ItB次元官网网址檚 the stuff of movies: if theyB次元官网网址檙e not hitched by a specified future date or age.
Well, an annual matching ritual that has become popular on nearly 90 college campuses around the U.S., has turned that dusty cliche into fun.
And a few couples have found lasting love.
Nearly half a million students have participated since the pact first rolled out at Stanford University in 2017. Born of an economics project by two students there, the pact involves an algorithm that rates matches based on such statements as B次元官网网址淚 prefer politically incorrect humorB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淚 pride myself on telling hard truths.B次元官网网址�
Unlike each student gets just one name, a percentage on the quality of the match and an email address to reach out.
B次元官网网址淭he idea is, if you think about everybody who goes to your college, surely thereB次元官网网址檚 someone who is a good backup plan for you,B次元官网网址� said Liam McGregor, one of the students who came up with the pact. B次元官网网址淣ot a Prince Charming, you know, not your perfect person necessarily, but maybe somebody whose number you should have.B次元官网网址�
The questions, he said, B次元官网网址渁re selected based on, hey, what do we need to know to have a 50-year relationship with someone? Can we make it a great one?B次元官网网址�
WHO SIGNS UP FOR THE MARRIAGE PACT?
Many students do it with friends just for fun and donB次元官网网址檛 follow up. Others are ghosted after trying to make contact. A tiny fraction land in long-term relationships, even marriage.
Count Max Walker and Melia Summers in that last group. The two were New York University students when they did the pact in fall 2020. It was just a lark for both. He was in New York and she was at NYUB次元官网网址檚 Abu Dhabi campus. They chatted online for months, then Summers took a semester to study in New York.
Their first physical date, for pizza, was nearly a year after their match. Wedding bells will ring June 29. The quality of the match, according to the algorithm, was 99.65%
Take that, Tinder.
B次元官网网址淲e liked the same music. We did the same sports. WeB次元官网网址檙e both from rural places,B次元官网网址� Summers said. B次元官网网址淚t was kind of funny, right? ItB次元官网网址檚 someone saying that they can find your, like, ultimate match. I didnB次元官网网址檛 really know if I was ready for my ultimate match at the time but I thought that was kind of a funny promise. And also, my friends were doing it, and we thought itB次元官网网址檇 be kind of interesting to do it together.B次元官网网址�
The two plan to move to Knoxville, Tennessee, after the wedding so Walker can attend law school there.
HOW THE MARRIAGE PACT BEGAN
McGregor, who runs the pact, said it spread quickly after word got out. Students from 15 other schools tried in the beginning to get in on the Stanford pact because it wasnB次元官网网址檛 available on their campuses. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not allowed. A campus-specific email address is required.
Rather than dwell on physical beauty and personal stats like height and hair color, he said, the Marriage Pact focuses its 50-question survey on core values. Communication styles and conflict resolution. Smoking and drug habits. And things like: B次元官网网址淚f you do nothing for an entire day, how do you feel?B次元官网网址� On a 1 to 7 scale, B次元官网网址渓ike a lardB次元官网网址� is 1 and B次元官网网址渓ike royaltyB次元官网网址� is 7.
The University of Michigan marriage pact poses this puzzler: B次元官网网址淭here is a place for revenge when someone has wronged me.B次元官网网址� On the 1-7 scale, 1 is B次元官网网址渢urn the other cheekB次元官网网址� and 7 is B次元官网网址減lotting rn.B次元官网网址� The Boston College pact wants to know: B次元官网网址淚 would end a friendship over differing political views,B次元官网网址� and the Notre Dame questionnaire queries: B次元官网网址淚 would send older relatives to a nursing home.B次元官网网址�
Questions are tailored for each campus since values may vary among students. At Georgetown, questions about politics and ambition are included, for example, whereas the Stanford pact may ask about things like careerism and spontaneity.
Pandemic restrictions kicked in as the pact spread wide to new campuses. B次元官网网址淚t was just harder to date,B次元官网网址� said Katie Richards, who did the pact at Boston College in February 2021.
Richards, now 25, was matched with Miguel Corzo, also 25. Both were seniors. After some time dating long distance after graduation, they now live together in Philadelphia and just marked their third anniversary. He got down on one knee and proposed during the recent eclipseB次元官网网址檚 totality in Erie, Pennsylvania, offering a diamond ring just as the moon left a glowing ring around the sun.
B次元官网网址淲e just did the Marriage Pact because our friends did it. We were just like, oh, you know, why not? ItB次元官网网址檚 something to do while everyoneB次元官网网址檚 locked away,B次元官网网址� Corzo said.
NOT EVERY MATCH LEADS TO LOVE
About 30% of matches meet up in person, and 1 in 9 of those end up dating for a year or longer, McGregor said. He knows of several other engaged couples. Some couples who were already dating have participated for fun and wound up matched with each other, he said.
McGregor was stunned at the interest in his little project after receiving the go-ahead from an economics professor.
B次元官网网址淲e sort of said, hey, could we get 100 people to sign up, because the matches wonB次元官网网址檛 be any good if fewer than 100 people sign up. In the first day, more than 1,000 people signed up, and the next day another 1,000 people signed up. By the end of the week, 60% of everyone at Stanford had signed up to get their optimal marital backup plan,B次元官网网址� he said.
Some students do the pact over and over again. It took Paul Armstrong and Shelby Merrill just one try in 2022 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Neither took it that seriously at the beginning.
B次元官网网址淎ll my buddies filled it out,B次元官网网址� Armstrong said. B次元官网网址淚 got a lot luckier than they did.B次元官网网址�
Their match hit 99.9%. Armstrong mailed off a personal resume to Merrill with some of his stats, likes and skills, listing among the latter: B次元官网网址淢aking playlists on Spotify (please donB次元官网网址檛 have Apple Music).B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hen they sent me his email I was like, IB次元官网网址檓 not going to email him. This is dumb. But then he sent me that and I was like, OK, he put some effort into it. This is cute,B次元官网网址� Merrill said.
The two, who live in separate Massachusetts towns, are planning their first overseas trip together, to Scandinavia. At 24 (Paul) and 23 (Shelby), theyB次元官网网址檙e planning to move in together at some point.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not in any rush,B次元官网网址� Armstrong said.
READ ALSO:
