Illustrations by Alex Sheriff
The imposition of higher fees dissuaded student application by 12% in 2012. However, British institutions accepted with nearly half a million students last year, the highest on record ever. Some students have figured out a way to avoid the financial pinch. Over 200 female students at the University of Kent are turning to “Sugar Daddies” to subsidise increased tuition costs. SeekingArrangement.com, the world’s largest Sugar Daddy dating site, is releasing its annual list of the “Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools”.
Students entering full-time higher education and acceptance rates at British universities hit record levels last year, despite 64 out of 122 institutions raising the average costs for undergraduate degree courses. One million students have found a new way to avoid student loan debt: Sugar Daddies.
SeekingArrangement.com is releasing its annual list of the “Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools”, a ranking of the top 20 universities in the United Kingdom with the most students signing up to find Sugar Daddies. The University of Kent moved up three spots from the previous year to number one, with 208 new students signing up in 2013. Kent beat out the University of Nottingham, with the University of Manchester rounding out the top three.
As of January 1, 2014, more than one million university students across the globe have registered for a SeekingArrangement.com membership. It is the world’s largest Sugar Daddy website with over 2.7 million members worldwide. The site’s Founder and CEO, Brandon Wade, maintains there is a direct correlation between Sugar Baby sign-up increase and the approved tuition maximums that took effect in 2012.
“Why hope for financial aid when you can guarantee it with a Sugar Daddy?” says Brandon Wade, founder and CEO of SeekingArrangement.com. “The Student loans lead to endless debt which amounts to more than the average graduate who earns £21,000 can handle. Sugar Daddies provide real solutions to the problem of student debts.
The following is a list of the Top 20 Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools in the UK, ranked according to new sign-ups for the year of 2013.
Rank – Institution Name – Number of New Sign-ups
1. University of Kent – 208
2. University of Nottingham – 195
3. University of Manchester – 175
4. University of Cambridge – 166
5. University of Leeds – 143
6. University of St. Andrews – 141
7. University of Bristol – 134
8. University of Exeter – 122
9. University of Northampton – 117
10. University of Westminster – 110
11. Queens University of Belfast -100
12. University of Arts London – 89
13. University of Essex – 83
14. London School of Economics – 72
15. Glasgow Caledonian University -65
16. Goldsmith University of London – 61
17. King’s College London – 59
18. University of Ulster – 54
19. University of Worcester – 51
20. Swansea University – 49
According to the Push university guide, 2012 entrants could expect an average predicted debt of £53,400. While the Institute for Public Policy Research finds that up to 40% of new students loans are expected to remain unpaid, due to the lack of graduates reaching an annual pay level of £21,000.
“We are not only helping students achieve financial freedom, but also indirectly relieving the government from the burden of unpaid loans,” says Wade. “If less students depended on loans and more graduates paid off their loans, then the overall budget for higher education would decrease dramatically.”
The average university Sugar Baby receives a monthly allowance of £5,000 from her Sugar Daddy. In 2013, SeekingArrangement experienced a 54 percent increase in student sign-ups. Students now account for more than 42 percent of the site’s total Sugar Baby membership, making them the website’s the largest demographic. As an incentive, SeekingArrangement offers free premium memberships to students who register using their school email accounts.