When Jackson Trugman couldn’t decide which of his five female friends to take to the Pi Kappa Alpha formal this weekend he told them to apply.

And this is 2008. So he created Not Your Normal Formal blogspot, a site asking girls to explain why he should choose them to go to the overnight event in Leesburg, Va.

“I was stressing out kind of a big deal, and one night in bed I was like, I should have a contest,” Trugman said. “It made my choosing a little easier.”

Though none of Trugman’s original five options sent in applications, 13 other girls did respond to his blog that was advertised on fliers that he posted around campus. Trugman also said he received 37 Facebook friendship requests from girls he didn’t know - including one from a mother asking him to meet her daughter. The site has received more than 2,000 hits since it launched on March 25, Trugman said.

“I just wanted to find someone who would eat and dance and have a good time and take pictures,” the sophomore said.

He said he was surprised at the response. Trugman posted 26 times on his blogspot explaining to applicants why he was holding the contest, who he expected to apply and information about himself. On March 26 he listed 13 personal facts like his favorite color and his habitual Diet Coke drinking.

“It’s not because I’m desperate or awkward,” he said of the posts. “I just wanted people to know that I was real.”

Maxine Peltz was one of Trugman’s applicants and when she saw his 13 facts, she said she knew that they would be a good match. …