Class 101 franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Class 101 franchise takes $69,900 – $108,900 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $49,900 – $54,900. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 7% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. To qualify, Class 101 asks for $42,890 in liquid cash and a $42,890 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Class 101 franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $49,900 | $54,900 | $49,900 to $54,900 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $69,900 | $108,900 | $69,900 to $108,900 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $42,890 | $42,890 | $42,890 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $42,890 | $42,890 | $42,890 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $69,900 | $108,900 | $69,900 to $108,900 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 7% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Class 101 cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Class 101's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Class 101's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $69,900 — about 17% below the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $49,900 — about 1.3× the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How Class 101's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 2 units; 56 units opened, 18 closed, ending at 48 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Class 101 or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Class 101 for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Class 101 is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Class 101 grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Class 101 can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Class 101 franchise
Class 101 is a professional services franchisor with 48 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 2 units; its filings record 56 unit openings and 18 closures, ending at 48 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Class 101, Inc..
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
We grant franchises for the operation of a business that provides advice, guidance and training to high school students and their parents in preparing for, selecting, applying to, and paying for college under the "Class 101" and "College Finance and Planning" trademarks and system of operating procedures
Class 101 franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Class 101 franchise cost?
- $69,900 – $108,900 all-in to open, per Class 101's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Class 101 units are there?
- 48 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Class 101's units held up?
- 82.8% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).