Would You Use a 'Sugar Daddy' to Pay Your College Tuition?

According to the website SeekingArrangement.com, thousands of young women in college are increasingly turning to "sugar daddies" to help fund their college education. What is a sugar daddy? A sugar daddy is an older, wealthy man who is willing to help pay for college and other financial needs in return for female companionship.

This article is not an endorsement of this practice. Unfortunately, this practice is a sign of the times. Since there are so many healthcare careers that require college degrees, many sugar babies are aspiring healthcare workers. Even if you are not a sugar baby, your future coworker at the hospital or medical office could be a former sugar baby.

According to a spokesperson for SeekingArrangement.com, about 47,500 members on the site ("sugar babies") are working towards a degree in the medical field, including physician, nursing, or other healthcare training program. The 47,500 future healthcare workers are a small percentage of the roughly 350,000 members who are working towards a degree of some type.

“In 2011, we saw an explosion in the number of college students seeking Sugar Daddies to help pay their college tuition”, says Brandon Wade, Founder & CEO of SeekingArrangement.com. “One in every two sugar babies who join our website today are college students, and college sugar babies now make up 40% of our sugar baby population, up from 33% in 2010.”

So which Universities have the most college "sugar babies"?

SeekingArrangement.com released a Top 20 list of universities with the largest number of Sugar Baby signups in 2011:

• 1. New York University (NYU) -- 185
• 2. University of Georgia -- 155
• 3. University of Phoenix -- 144
• 4. Tulane University -- 129
• 5. Temple University -- 113
• 6. Virginia Community College -- 108
• 7. University of Southern Florida -- 93
• 8. Arizona State University -- 85
• 9. Michigan State -- 81
• 10. Ivy Tech Community College -- 78
• 11. Georgia State University -- 74
• 12. University of Wisconsin -- 73
• 13. Penn State University -- 72
• 14. University of Central Florida -- 67
• 15. Kent University -- 65
• 16. Maricopa Community College -- 63
• 17. Indiana University -- 62
• 18. University of California, Berkeley -- 61
• 19. The Art Institutes -- 60
• 20. Florida International University -- 59

College students who register for an account on SeekingArrangement.com with their dot-EDU email address automatically receive a free premium membership upgrade, and are certified as “College Sugar Babies”. Profiles that are certified as “College Sugar Babies” receive three times more inquiries from potential Sugar Daddies.

“In 2012, as the economy continue to limp along, we expect the trend of college students signing up as Sugar Babies to maintain its explosive growth,” says Mr. Wade who holds a BS degree and an MBA degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “An important social fabric is broken in our society, where individuals are taught to fend for themselves once they turn 18. We can no longer depend on our government or our parents for our education. In the absence of these important social support systems, it’s no wonder more and more college students are relying on finding a Sugar Daddy or Sugar Mommy to pay for college.”

The website that is leading this unsettling trend for college students touts itself as "the leading sugar daddy and sugar baby dating website."

In early 2012, "SeekingArrangement.com sought to redefine what it means to be a sugar daddy by redefining the modern “sugar daddy” as a mentor, sponsor or benefactor who is always respectful, generous, and seeking to empower others.

Launched in 2006, the website currently boasts over 1 million members worldwide.

SeekingArrangement.com is founded by Brandon Wade, an online dating expert, author and entrepreneur who also started SeekingMillionaire.com - the leading millionaire matchmaker online service, and WhatsYourPrice.com - the first and only, patent pending online dating website where singles can buy and sell first dates.

An online dating service, in my opinion, is not the safest or best way to pay for college. With so many government programs, scholarships, and financial aid plans out there, your Guide to Health Careers strongly advises against being a "sugar baby". Although it is touted as safe and legal, meeting people online in exchange for money cannot be completely safe, because the site cannot possibly control the behavior of the people who sign up.

There are many other ways to reduce your college tuition costs, and many other ways to finance your college education:

• 5 Ways to Save Money on College Tuition Costs
• 5 Ways to Finance Your College Education"