University junior Sarah* made $2,500 each of the last two months from her new arrangement. She’s happy with the amount, — though it is a step down from the $3,000 she made each of the six months prior in her previous arrangements. In November 2015, Sarah’s friend told her about SeekingArrangement.com, where she could become a sugar baby and earn extra funds for going on dates.
“One of my friends last year just told me about it,” Sarah said. “And I was like, ‘Well, I mean, I’m not dating anyone. I don’t see why not.’”
Sarah is participating in her second successful arrangement. She met with several sugar daddies but chose not to have long-term arrangements with most of them. The man she is currently meeting is similar to the first: She says he just wants somebody to hang out with. Sarah sympathizes with that and is happy to spend time with him.
“Most people just want someone to hang out with,” Sarah said. “They just want a companion. They’re lonely, so they would give me an allowance per month.”
Sarah is one of 124 University students registered on SeekingArrangement.com. She has several friends who are also registered and said their arrangements are similar to hers. The nature of the website leads people to assume arrangements have a sexual nature, but Sarah says that’s not the case with her nor her friends’ arrangements.
“A lot of people have been like, ‘So, you’re a prostitute?’ And I’m like ‘No,’” Sarah said. “I’m not even sleeping with these people at all. Some people do, but that’s not really what it’s about.”
Each sugar baby describes their ideal arrangement on their online profile. Every sugar daddy that has interacted with Sarah saw that her arrangements were not sexual in nature.
Sarah said she did not sign up with the intention of using her funds for her tuition, but many sugar babies did. Nearly half of registered sugar babies are college students, and more than 1 million users reported they were on the site seeking financial aid. With University students suffering from TOPS cuts, the school saw a 30 percent increase in students signing up at SeekingArrangement.com in 2016 when compared to the registrations the year before.
Sarah said she would encourage any student considering registering on SeekingArrangement.com to sign up as long as they understand how to maintain their safety throughout the process. She always tells her best friend about the details of her arrangements before she goes in case something happens to her.
“I always text my best friend before I go meet someone for the first few times,” Sarah said. “I’m like, this is where I’m going, I should be this long and I’ll text you after if you don’t hear from me by then.”
The University is the 64th-fastest growing sugar baby school, and with the status of TOPS legislation up in the air, that ranking could grow in 2017. While some may frown upon the choices the 35 students made last year, Sarah hopes everyone can get past the misconceptions of life as a sugar baby.
*Editor’s Note: The subject of this story wished to remain anonymous. The Daily Reveille elected to use a fictitious name, Sarah, to preserve her identity.