CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 investigated a growing trend among local college students. Eyewitness News learned that hundreds of college students in Charlotte are connecting with older men online and agreeing to date them in exchange for money they can use toward tuition.
More than 1,700 men in the Charlotte area are on the website seekingarrangement.com, which brands itself as "the leading sugar daddy dating site."
There are also hundreds of local college students on the Sugar Babies website.
A UNC Charlotte pre-med student, who asked that we not use her real name, opened up to only Eyewitness News.
"It's definitely very easy to judge someone for doing this,” said 19-year-old “Michelle.” "My parents would be absolutely mortified.”
She has been on the Seeking Arrangement website for a year and a half, dating older men in exchange for money.
She said she has encountered doctors and lawyers, and even some married men.
“Michelle” said the oldest man she met was 54. She said most of the men just want companionship.
Channel 9 Anchor Liz Foster asked her, "Have you had sex with people you've met on this website?”
“Yes I have,” she replied.
Michelle was then asked what she would say to people who believe the site is a form of prostitution.
“I don't believe it's a form of prostitution because everything is very mutual,” she said.
Channel 9 reached out to the company and learned that Michelle is one of hundreds of local college students on the website.
More than 300 students at UNC Charlotte are on the site, and nearly a quarter of them signed up last year.
Fourteen website members go to Queens University. Ten students at Davidson College are on the site and three at Johnson C. Smith University.
Michelle said her primary reason for joining is to get help with tuition.
”The expenses started to pile on," she said. She told Channel 9 she made $11,000 in the year-and-a-half she has been on the site.
She makes more money for more time and has even traveled out of state with men.
“Aren't you ever afraid you're going to meet the wrong person and it could turn dangerous?” Foster asked.
“Absolutely. There's always that fear,” Michelle said.
She said she takes precautions to stay safe, including using an app that generates fake phone numbers and always telling a friend where she will be.
Michelle said she plans to stay on the website after graduation in case she needs to make extra money.
Tuition costs for local colleges:
UNC Charlotte
Enrollment 28,721
Undergraduate tuition $6,681 in state, $19,852.00 out of state
Queens University
Enrollment 1,617
Undergraduate tuition $31,360
Davidson College
Enrollment 1,950
Undergraduate tuition $48,376.00
Johnson C. Smith University
Enrollment 1,428
Undergraduate Tuition $18,236 (same for in state and out of state)
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