Students turning to 'sugar daddies' to pay for university

Many students are now taking to a controversial approach to pay off their ever-increasing student loans and debts.

Millions of students around the globe are joining dating websites like SeekingArrangement.com and calling themselves Sugar Babies to partner up with wealthy, and often older men who are willing to spend money on them.

More than 2.5 million Sugar Babies have joined SeekingArrangement.com.

In exchange for graduating debt-free, students are accompanying their Sugar Daddy or Daddies on trips around the world, often providing companionship.

In some situations, physical intimacy is included in the arrangement.

Christina, a 29-year-old Sugar Baby from Las Vegas told Business Insider she started to investigate into the scheme after her uncle, who previously paid for her education, passed away.

"I was like, I can't afford this, I'm going to be paying this off for years and years and years.

"One of the very first messages that pretty much everyone sends, on either side, is 'What are you looking for?' because we want to make sure we're on the same page," Christina explained.

"I'm not a person that is interested in one-night stands with people who are visiting Vegas for a couple days - that's not interesting to me. If that's what you're going to come at me with, my response is going to be, thank you for the offer, but I'm going to pass."

Christina estimates her Sugar Daddies have given her at least NZ$130,000 to pay for tuition, books and school fees.

Some Sugar Daddies are married with children but just want to help students get through university, while others are after sex.

The university student said the hardest part of being a Sugar Baby is dealing with the stigma attached to the arrangement.

"I've had to struggle with the negative attachment that comes along with being on the site, or saying that you have a Sugar Daddy, it's difficult to have people hear a word and automatically think negative about you, but at the same time, I have to push that stuff out of my mind," she continued.

"At the end of the day, it's benefiting me and it's helping me and my future, and people's opinions aren't going to benefit my future."