Seekingarrangement.com has revealed that Oxford University had the 20th highest number of students sign up to be ‘sugar babies’ last year, well-behind behind its rival, Cambridge.
In its annual study of university sugar babies, the world’s largest ‘sugar daddy’ dating site revealed that 71 Oxford students had signed up in comparison to 207 from Cambridge University.In total, nearly two million students are seeking benefactors in the form of ‘sugar daddies’ and ‘mommies’ to financially support their university education, according to the study.
The site confirmed that 136 Oxford students are registered with them, whilst there are 704 at Cambridge and as many as 724 at Kent University. They have seen a 109 per cent increase in Oxford students registering on their site from the previous year and a 40 per cent over all in sign ups across UK Universities. The site helps to match wealthy benefactors “seeking mutually beneficial relationships” with “attractive” members and come to a variety of “arrangements”, ranging from dinner and conversations to sexual liaisons in return for cash and gifts.
“The French had courtesans,” the website states. “The Japanese had geishas. And in today’s society, we now have sugar babies.”
The average ‘sugar baby’ allowance is £2,000. On average, members put 36 per cent of this towards tuition, 23 per cent towards rent and 20 per cent towards books, with clothes and transport revealing much lower percentages of five and nine per cent respectively, the site disclosed. Last year, SeekingArrangement.com found that only 20 per cent of relationships started on the site were not sexual.
The group commented , “Oxford may be one of the cheapest cities for student accommodation, but the University of Oxford is one of the most expensive in the nation. Many students have found an alternative route to pay for university and associated costs by turning to SeekingArrangement to find sugar daddies and mommies.”
“Perhaps one of the most alluring benefits of pursuing sugar daddies, aside from financial stability, is the mentorship and opportunities from dating someone who is of a higher social and economic standing. Most students hear about SeekingArrangement, and this lifestyle from other students who have used it”
“This is not part-time work, or any type of work for that matter. Arrangements are relationships, albeit constructed differently than traditional relationships.”
“Financial reasons aside. The society we live in has changed, and there is interest in alternative relationship models. Arrangements are a modern take on relationships with traditional values.”
“Women are unfairly labelled ‘gold diggers’ if they are vocal about wanting a successful partner. The up-front nature of arrangements, being able to lay out exactly the type of person and relationship you want, without fear of judgement or stigma from potential partners’ is empowering. If men are allowed to vocalise what qualities they want in a partner, say being educated and beautiful, then women should be encouraged to do the same for whichever qualities they value.”
SeekingArrangement.com offers free premium memberships to students that register with their university email address or if they show proof of their enrolment. Premium accounts allow students to feature on the site, “increasing their visibility and chances of securing an arrangement” to “sugar daddies and mommies”.
The site currently boasts over 5 million members and was founded by MIT graduate and online-dating expert, Brandon Wade. Members can join for free.
Natasha Gibbs, an undergraduate at Merton, commented, “Relying on these older men, or women, seems to undermine the independence that these students are trying to achieve by pursuing higher education, and the figures are worryingly high in some universities. That said, it is sad that so many young women feel that they have no choice but to turn to such measures in order to pay for their degrees, and perhaps the level of financial support available to students who are struggling with money needs to be addressed.”
Jack Harrison, a second year at Pembroke, said, “The nature of tuition fee increases, combined with the intense nature of Oxford times makes it hardly surprising that students are feeling the need to potentially compromise themselves out of a necessity to pay their way.”
But one ‘sugar baby’ from Cambridge said, “I feel such an arrangement gives me a freedom”, with another noting “it’s an easy, convenient way to support myself.”
Oxford University declined to comment.
