The ever-soaring price of college tuition, coupled with a similar jump in student loan debt, has a record number of female coeds turning to "sugar daddies" to help pay for their education and lifestyle, according to a website that links "sugar babies" with "sugar daddies."
The site, SeekingArrangement.com, said that the number of women joining the sight jumped 58 percent last year. Locally, George Mason University made the list of schools seeing big jumps. It ranks 59th and saw a 62% surge in women signing up with the site in 2012.
According to SeekingArrangement.com, "the average college sugar baby receives approximately $3,000 per month to cover the cost of tuition, books and living expenses."
"The population of college sugar babies in D.C. has steadily increased every year, with GMU leading all major universities in the D.C. area," said the site's founder, Brandon Wade. "While some may argue that these women are just using men for their own personal gain, I believe that they are proactive in pursuing a higher education."
He added: "College should be an opportunity to expand the mind and experience new things. Unfortunately, because of the of recent tuition hikes, the college experience has become greatly unbalanced."
The site claims two million members. In 2011, college students comprised 40% of the members. But after the 58 percent jump last year, they now total 44 percent.
Top 20 Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools, determined by number of new sign-ups in 2012:
1. Georgia State University - 292
2. New York University - 285
3. Temple University - 268 (#5 in 2011)
4. University of Central Florida - 221
5. University of Southern Florida - 212
6. Arizona State University - 204
7. Florida International University - 187
8. University of Georgia - 148
9. Indiana University - 123
10. Texas State - 131
11. Kent State University - 128
12. Penn State - 121 (#13 in 2011)
13. University of North Texas - 112
14. Florida State University - 111
15.Tulane University - 109
16. Michigan State University - 108
17. University of Ohio - 103
18. Columbia University - 100
19. University of Alabama - 96
20. University of California Los Angeles - 91
