“Dating” your way out of college debt

That college students are resorting to selling their companionship online is not a surprise, says Angela Bermudo, SeekingArrangement’s press relations manager. That phenomenon coincides with the skyrocketing costs of higher education. According to the College Board, the cost of attending a public four-year college has risen 27 percent beyond inflation over the past five years. The average published in-state tuition at public, four-year colleges and universities for the 2013-2014 year was $8,893, compared to $2,590 in 2009-2010. The cost for attending a private institution is even higher. The average private school tuition in 2013-2014 was $30,090, compared to $20,930 in 2009-2010.

The Institute for College Access and Success Project on Student Debt reports that the average student leaves college about $26,600 in debt.

“Our graduates in their late 20s should be preparing to buy their homes in a few years, but, unfortunately, they can’t. They have to move back home with their parents because they have many thousands of dollars in student loans. So often students will turn to our site to provide for their basic needs,” Bermudo says.

The 10 colleges most actively involved with SeekingArrangement, according to the website, include Texas State University (189 students), University of California, Davis (192), University of Southern California (211), Kent State University (219), University of Colorado (232), Temple University (251), Georgia State University (269), New York University (347), Arizona State University (409), and University of Central Florida (474).

In 2013, 292 students from Georgia State University were listed on SeekingArrangement, making it the number one “SugarDaddy” school.

Julia is a good example of that. Though like all of the “SugarBabies” and “SugarDaddies” SeekingArrangement made available for this story, she declined to have her full name used, she candidly discussed her motivation for joining the site and her relationship with her current “SugarDaddy.”

She recently graduated from the University of Texas with a double major in law and psychology. Originally, she was uncertain about joining SeekingArrangement. But after identity thieves racked up thousands of dollars of out-of-state purchases on her credit card and emptied her bank account, she couldn’t pay rent for the month. SeekingArrangement seemed like her only option for income.

At first, the arrangements were unsettling. “There are the type of guys who would say ‘Hey, $400, let’s meet up tonight at a hotel,’ ” she says. “It took several months to get used to it. But there were times where I was having so much financial struggle that I was encouraged to get back on the website.”

Financial struggle wasn’t the only reason Julia joined, though. She says her father was an abusive heroine addict who couldn’t sustain her family. After being adopted and separated from her siblings at a young age, Julia was emancipated by the age of 17. She described having a “SugarDaddy” as like having the nurturing male in her life she felt deprived of.

“He is like a father figure, looking after me,” she says. “He knows my daily routine, knows if I’m taking my vitamins, he’s very, very genuine and loving. We check up on each other, have daily text messages and weekly phone calls. SeekingArrangement made me feel protected. Someone taking care of you and providing for you is a nice feeling. It’s like having the cake and eating it too — you have fun and the icing added on top of it is like the allowance.”