Campus Cash: How Onlyfans Is Funding College Dreams In 2025 on OnlyLikeFans

Skipping Pilates for Profit: A Student’s Double Life

Shayna Loren, a 21-year-old advertising major at Boston University, had a rough start to her Tuesday in late April. After partying with friends to celebrate the Boston Marathon, she woke up hungover, threw on some sweats, and barely made it to her Media Strategy class. Her day was packed - from a Shark Tank-inspired course called From Concept to Cart (her team pitched a pill pouch for water bottles) to a Public Speaking presentation that dropped jaws.

Instead of the expected 'future career' spiel, Loren plugged her laptop into the projector and unveiled a slideshow titled 'Influencing: The Perfect Way to Never Use Your College Degree.' She laid it all bare - literally and figuratively - revealing her thriving gig as a content creator on OnlyFans, the subscription platform often tied to adult content. With over 1 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, and a cool $1.1 million earned on OnlyFans over three years (post the platform’s 20 percent cut), she’s not just a student - she’s a mogul.

Starting her OnlyFans journey in her senior year of high school, Loren saw it as a branding and marketing challenge. Hailing from Olympia, Washington, this Presidential Scholar at BU - where tuition tops $91,000 a year - told her parents (a doctor and a marketing entrepreneur) to save their cash. By sophomore year, her OnlyFans income covered her costs, proving she could game the system with style.

College Costs and Creative Solutions

Let’s talk numbers: the average private four-year college tuition hovers around $40,000 annually, with elite schools like Vanderbilt hitting $100,000. With U.S. student debt nearing a staggering $2 trillion, the pressure to pay for higher education is crushing families and students alike. So, it’s no shocker that some are turning to unconventional hustles to ease the burden.

Enter OnlyFans, a platform where creators (18 and older) can monetize exclusive content - often adult-oriented, ranging from suggestive snaps to explicit material. While not new - remember Duke’s Belle Knox making headlines in 2014 for funding her degree through porn? - the internet has supercharged this trend. For students like Loren, OnlyFans is a modern gold rush, covering not just tuition but books, room, board, and beyond.

'It’s not just about school - it’s the whole package: laptops, housing, food. OnlyFans lets me handle it all without breaking a sweat,' says Maya Morena, an East Coast healthcare student pulling in $8,000 monthly on the platform.

Building a Brand on Campus

Loren isn’t alone. Take Misty Ray, a nursing grad now funding med school through OnlyFans, who markets herself as the 'med student needing support.' Her followers aren’t just subscribers; they’re invested in her journey, blending personal connection with her spicy content. For Ray, it’s less about ideology and more about cold, hard cash to fuel her dreams.

College campuses have always been hotbeds of social influence, from sports stars to beauty gurus cashing in online. Think Olivia Dunne, the retired LSU gymnast who reportedly raked in $9.5 million from endorsements with her 13.4 million followers. OnlyFans creators like Loren tap into that same vibe, reviving the 'wild coed' trope with a digital twist - her 'college girl crush' persona resonates with her 71,300 subscribers, blending nostalgia with allure.

But not everyone’s buying the hype. While Loren balances frat parties and Red Sox games with content creation - and insists on a 'normal' college life off-campus - some peers whisper behind her back. Still, she shrugs it off, noting BU’s policies don’t target personal accounts, and her hustle isn’t illegal. 'Students send nudes all the time. How do you even police that?' she quips.

The Bigger Picture: Empowerment or Exploitation?

OnlyFans isn’t just a side gig; it’s a cultural lightning rod. With 4.1 million creators and over 305 million users as of November 2023, the platform (owned by UK-based Fenix International Limited) processed $6.6 billion in payments last year. Success stories like Iggy Azalea’s rumored $9 million monthly haul fuel the fantasy, especially for Gen Z, who see monetizing their digital selves as a natural step.

Yet, the reality bites. Data from 2020 shows the median creator earns just $180 a month, with the top 1 percent hoarding 33 percent of the cash. 'If you’re a random college kid with no following, good luck making bank,' warns Gail Dines, a sociology professor emerita at BU. Loren agrees, stressing the need for viral moments on TikTok or Instagram to funnel fans to OnlyFans - her own multi-platform strategy keeps her in the green.

Critics like Dines argue this 'sexual revolution' isn’t all empowerment, calling it a commodification trap sold as liberation. Meanwhile, Loren frames her work as modeling, not porn, comfortable with topless content but drawing her line there. The debate rages on: is this agency or exploitation? There’s no clear answer, but for Loren, it’s a calculated business move.

Future-Proofing a Digital Empire

Loren’s got a game plan. She pitched OnlyFans to her parents with a full business proposal, and with tuition covered through graduation, she’s eyeing a house and car post-BU. 'I’m an entrepreneur, not a corporate drone,' she says, unfazed by the internet’s permanence. Her skills in social media and BU education are her safety net, should she pivot to a nine-to-five in the influencer space.

Her schedule is relentless - classes crammed into Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving the rest of the week for content creation, meetings, and running her million-dollar media gig. From wardrobe updates to live Wednesday night OnlyFans streams (where tips roll in as clothes come off), she curates an intimate glimpse into her life. A recent stream, post-presentation, netted $1,000 in an hour from under 50 viewers, with recordings sold for $15 a pop.

Even with finals looming, Loren’s focus splits between studying and streaming. 'My followers feel like they’re taking care of me,' she says, acknowledging their obsession after years of loyalty. For now, she’s juggling textbooks and lingerie sets, proving that in 2025, college isn’t just about degrees - it’s about dollars, digital and daring.