AUSTIN, Texas -- Going to college can be a stressful time for some students, keeping up with school and work to pay their way as tuition continues to rise; forcing some to find alternative ways to pay for school.

"It's definitely a lot to go to school here,” said Taylar Packard, UT student.

Students at UT are paying just over $10,000 a year, about the average for the State of Texas, but that doesn't include any required books or a place to stay. Room and board adds an additional $10,000.

"It's not cool when you have to be studying plus your job to pay for your schooling,” said UT student Laurel Cavanaugh.

Many students will graduate and join the 44 million Americans with student loan debt, forcing some to find an alternative ways to pay for school. Maria, who didn’t want us to use her real name, is a senior at Texas State and a sugar baby. She joined Seeking Arrangement two years ago after she struggled with juggling work and school.

More than 3 million students have registered on the site, which pairs wealthy men, known as sugar daddies, with younger women, known as their sugar babies.

According to the site, UT was named No. 5 on the list of fastest growing universities. The site notes they had more than 730 sugar babies in 2017, a 40 percent increase from 2016. Texas State University came in at No. 7 with more than 850 sugar babies, a 30 percent increase from the previous year.

"There are friends that I tell that I do this and they are like, 'You're spending time with people for money. Isn't that like prostitution?' And I'm like, 'No, it's really not,’” said Maria.

Maria said her relationships with her sugar daddies have been strictly platonic. She's made about $3,000 in addition to other gifts from simply exchanging her companionship for cash.

"I think of it as to people helping each other out,” she said.

In a time where, tuition seems to be on the rise, students believe the growing number of college sugar babies says a lot about the affordability of higher education.