Some claimed they participated for the fun of the process, while many said they gave in to pro-Datamatch peer pressure.

"I had a really annoying entryway-mate who forced me to," said Scott A. Taylor '99.

One student cited a unusual reason for taking part in the romantic roulette.

"My boyfriend and I were trying to see if we could get each other," said Heather L. Bowie '96.

Harvard students who are counting on Datamatch's algorithm to bring them true love may be pleasantly surprised by the outcomes.

Shah, who said he considers the Datamatch "a pretty accurate gauge of compatibility," said last year's version yielded at least one campus couple.

"If you look at your top 10 results, there's probably a good chance that you might get lucky," Lin said.

Of course, before students can make it to that stage, they'll have to contact their matches, a step which Shah deems unlikely.

"Most people will look at [their compatibility list]; most won't call," he said.

Students seemed to agree they would call a person from their list only if they already knew the person, a scenario which Lin labels quite possible.

"If a lot of your friends enter, there's a good chance that someone you know will be on your list," he said.

Shah encouraged students to contact their matches, regardless of prior familiarity.

"If someone wants to try to get something more substantial out of it, more power to them," he said.

This year's version of Datamatch is a collaboration between the Council and HCS. The Council wrote the questions for the Datamatch, while HCS created a Datamatch web site and provided the algorithm for determining the matches, Shah said.

Last year, a company outside of Harvard worked out the technicalities of the Datamatch, but when HCS offered its services for this year, the Council accepted.

"It's always been an idea that our members have had in the past," said Lin. The Council will pay HCS 65 cents of each dollar that students dole out for their match sheets, according to Shah.

HCS has proven to be a very flexible partner for the Council, Shah said, especially since professional computer match-making services are completely swamped with requests this time of year.

"They've been very, very good about the whole thing," said Shah.