Hey guys, 19 year old male here, I need some advice on meeting girls.

Alright, so recently my ex girlfriend told me that part of the reason she was attracted to me was because I was acting like a jerk when we met. To be honest, I was, to some degree. She told me this after I told her that I wasn't having the best luck finding girls at my new university, and that I was worried I was coming off as creepy. Her advice was to "make it seem like girls wanted me", that part of that was acting a bit like a jerk, and directed me to something called the tao of badass. Its one of those books like "the game" that advertises itself as exploiting loopholes in psychology to sleep with or date anyone, and thus sounds like a giant kinda date-rapey scam. I don't want to believe that being a douche or being exploitative is the way to get date, it certainly hasn't been how I have gotten any in the past (I think), but my faith in just being a nice guy to be successful is faltering. Does being a manipulative jerk work? What are some common ways nice guys can come off as creepy? Even some basic advice for meeting people would help.

Tldr, be a manipulative jerk or act like a normal human being?