But others decry this as stereotyping, insisting that the male "wanderer" and the female eager for a ring are images which are no longer accurate. At a school like Harvard, where the genders seem equally driven and academically motivated, students say it is unfair to blame the non-existent dating life on male fears of commitment.

Undergraduates offer non-gender-specific explanations to account for the dissatisfying romantic life cultivated at Harvard.

"Harvard is a very goal-oriented place, seeing people as a means to an end. Relationships are not conducive to this mindframe," Forgacs says.

He contrasts this mood at Harvard with that at Clarkson University, which he attended prior to arriving here. At Clarkson, he says, "the idea of just hanging around was so much more prevalent."

Here at Harvard, Forgacs describes students as typically saying "Well, let's have coffee, but I have to get back to do my problem set."

Students are often on a tight time budget in which socializing is unlikely to be prioritized among the slew of intellectual and extracurricular pursuits, he says.

Another student, who asked not to be identified, agrees "everyone is so into their own work, it's just not happening here."

One student says "the too-busy-for-other-people" syndrome, a popular characterization of the Harvard personality, prevents students from engaging in an active dating life.

Some students laugh at the assertion that "everyone is a dork who studies too much in the library," saying a school comprised of such a population is rather humorously embarrassing. Others, however, acknowledge that they "wish there was more casual dating." When they stop to think about it, they say they feel sad and frustrated with the present system.

Valentine's Day is not widely celebrated at Harvard. Most students will probably do what they always do and are very good at: work. A small minority will sit around and watch sappy movies or drink the beers of consolation. The even smaller minority with a beloved may partake in some romantic rendezvous.

The single majority, whether studying, moping or partying, will inevitably, at some point, pause for reflection. When they do, they might look optimistically towards the future, hoping that maybe by next year they will have found that special somebody at Harvard.