Dating site SeekingArrangement.com offers attractive women the chance to date older, well off, men and in return they are lavished with gifts from their date.
Relationships on Female First
The site has seen a high increase in female students joining the site since it was announced that the tuition fees could be raised to as much as £9,000 a year.
The university with the greatest number of sign-ups was Nottingham University with 67 new sign-ups, followed closely by the University of Kent with 57 new members signing up.
Cambridge University was recently voted the best university in the world and saw 46 new students signing up to the site, putting it fourth on the leader board.
The site believe this increased activity to have come from the increased fees but also because it is becoming increasingly hard to find paid work after finishing university, with graduates often having to do internships for free.
Despite the site having an agreement between its members that they pay their attractive dates a generous monthly retainer, Helen Croydon, author of Sugar Daddy Diaries, says that if you’re in it just for the money then don’t bother.
She joined the site for 18 months and dated many older men. She said, “It is an easy way for well-educated attractive girls to make money.
“Lots of students are now doing it – and obviously tuition fees and the fact that it is so hard for graduates to find well paid work after leaving university are driving lots of women to these sites.
“What I would say to them quite clearly is: don’t do this if you are just looking for money. Do it if you are attracted to older men and are looking for companionship with someone who has money. If money is your only motivation you may be disappointed.”
One member who has benefitted greatly from the site is Liya Step. The fashion student, who studies at University of Creative Arts in Kent, has been dating a 43-year-old millionaire from the site since January.
Her fees have now gone up to £5,000 a year and she has to pay for living costs on top of that. Her millionaire partner pays her a monthly retainer which now covers the cost of her studies, although she insists that this isn’t the reason she’s dating him.
She said, “I met him on SeekingArrangement but he is the kind of man I would have dated anyway. He is a very successful and very sexy, too.”
“I have been lucky in being involved in a committed relationship with a lovely man who has helped to pay for my studies.
“We have a brilliant time and I don't have to worry about money while I establish myself as a fashion designer.”
As well as paying her the fee, he also pays for luxury holidays and designer clothing but Liya is adamant that their relationship is perfectly acceptable.
She says, “I don’t think there is anything wrong with our relationship. It's progressed in much the same way as if we had met in a bar or a restaurant.
“In both cases, I would expect my boyfriend to look after me and buy me lovely presents. With a site like SeekingArrangement both parties are aware of that expectation right from the outset.”
It’s thought that students who start university this year will have to pay back debts of up to £53,000 which is nearly double what students were paying in 2011.
Are you starting university this year? Would you resort to a sugar daddy dating site to help pay your fees and get you out of debt?
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