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FRANCHISE RESALES

Group of six smiling young adults from Class-101 holding a banner that spells "Seniors" in front of a building with columns.

Buy a Class 101 Franchise

Class 101 is a college planning franchise that guides high school students through the increasingly complex college admissions and financial aid process. Working one-on-one with students from as early as freshman year, its planners help build GPAs and resumes, prepare for the SAT and ACT, shortlist suitable colleges, write application essays, and pursue scholarships and aid.

The business runs from a small local center staffed by a lean team of college planners. Revenue comes directly from families, who typically pay an initial enrollment fee plus a fixed monthly fee for ongoing, individualized planning. The model is territory-based and supported by proprietary college planning software and an online ACT/SAT prep platform. Class 101 has been franchising since 2007, building on a concept founded in 1997.

The brand operates a network of 85+ locations and is part of Unleashed Brands, the multi-brand platform behind several youth-focused franchise concepts. That parent backing gives franchisees shared resources while the local owner concentrates on enrolling families and delivering results in their community.

Latest Resales

Why buy a Class 101 Franchise?

Class 101 sits in the education and student-success category, an area with steady, mission-driven demand that resonates with many owners. The model is built around recurring monthly revenue from enrolled families rather than one-off projects, and a single small center can be run with a lean team, which keeps overhead modest relative to many service franchises.

For buyers, the Unleashed Brands connection is a meaningful draw: it brings the operating systems, marketing resources and shared infrastructure of an established multi-brand franchisor to an otherwise community-rooted local business. The brand also reports strong franchisee satisfaction, having earned repeated recognition from Franchise Business Review.

Class 101 Franchise Costs & Information

Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

  • Brand Profile

    • Year Founded

      1997

    • Franchising Since

      2007

    • New Startup Cost

      $75,287 – $130,187

    • Avg. Resale Price

      Contact us for details
    Teacher explaining a lesson in Class 101 to two smiling female students at a table with books and papers.

  • Franchise Fees

    • Initial franchise Fee

      $39,900

      for new territories

    • Transfer Fee

      50%

      of Initial Franchise Fee; 25% to existing franchisee; $3,500 non-controlling

    • Royalty Fee

      8%

      of Gross Revenue

    • Marketing Fee

      2%

      of Gross Sales

    A leader from Class 101 seated on a couch in a room with maps on the wall training franchisees.

  • Unit Performance

    • Total Units *

      69

    • New Units Opened *

      15

    • Units Transferred *

      0

    • Avg. Unit revenue *

      $230,301

    * Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD
    A group of smiling young adults posing with a sign that says "proud grad" celebrating their completion from the Class 101 franchise program.

Class 101 – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    Initial training runs across multiple days and combines 40 hours of classroom instruction with 120 hours of on-the-job training, supported by proprietary curriculum, college planning software and an online ACT/SAT prep platform. Ongoing support includes twice-weekly team meetings, regular podcasts, marketing materials and a dedicated home office team backed by Unleashed Brands resources. Buyers of an existing Class 101 center should confirm what transfer training and software access the franchisor provides to incoming owners and any inherited planners.

  2. Ideal Owner

    Class 101 suits people who pair a genuine passion for education with the drive to run a local, sales-aware business. Day to day, the owner enrolls families, builds referral relationships with schools and the community, and manages a small team of college planners while overseeing service quality. A teaching, counseling or tutoring background helps but is not essential; equally important are strong interpersonal skills, organization, and comfort marketing the center locally. It fits hands-on operators motivated as much by student outcomes as by financial return.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    Class 101 has earned repeated franchisee-satisfaction recognition from Franchise Business Review, including 2024 and 2023 Rock Star awards, a 2024 Top Franchise Satisfaction award and a 2023 Top Low-Cost Franchise award. It has also been cited as a Top 100 Game-Changer franchise and among top low-cost, established concepts. As part of Unleashed Brands, the brand carries added platform credibility. For resale buyers, brand-level recognition should be weighed alongside the specific territory's local reviews, school relationships and community standing.

  4. Industry / Market

    Class 101 operates in the US college planning and admissions advising market, where demand is driven by an admissions and financial aid process that grows more complex each year. With roughly 16 million US high school students and public-school counselor caseloads averaging well above the 250:1 ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association, many families seek outside guidance. Rising tuition and scholarship competition reinforce the appeal of personalized planning. The category is broadly resilient, though enrollment follows the academic calendar, a seasonality buyers should weigh against a unit's revenue history.

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