Class 101 college planning franchise is a low-cost investment and proven business model focused on helping college-bound teens
Rising college costs, time-crunched high school guidance counselors and the increasingly complex and competitive college application system all point to Class 101 college planning franchise as a smart buy for investors.
Class 101 is a national college planning franchise that helps high school students get into better colleges and qualify for higher amounts of scholarships and financial aid. We address a common problem: the college application process is complicated, competitive and stressful, resulting in students who don’t get enough, or any, financial aid and often end up at the wrong school.
“The college planning process can be incredibly frustrating and confusing for families, but it doesn’t have to be,” says Class 101 Founder Tom Pabin. “There are many colleges and universities that have scholarships and aid to give out, but the typical high school guidance counselor doesn’t have time to help guide students toward the optimum choices and parents don’t know where to turn. Eighty percent of college students pick the wrong school or miss out on financial aid and scholarships they could easily get if they understood the process better and received guidance earlier. Class 101 was founded to address these issues.”
As Class 101 expands across the country toward a goal of 50 new locations over the next two years, we are actively seeking business-minded people who are passionate about helping millions of college-bound students recognize their full potential. Our franchisees experienced record growth in 2015 and we recently celebrated the grand opening of our new Lexington, Kentucky, headquarters.
Here are three trends that make a Class 101 college planning franchise a smart buy:
Demand for College Planning Services Is on the Rise
Demand for personalized college planning will continue rising as more and more high school seniors apply to college. Undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase 14 percent from 17.3 million to 19.8 million students between 2014 and 2025, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Too often these students miss out on tens of thousands of dollars of scholarship and grant money, and they end up unhappy and unsatisfied with their college experience.
Class 101 franchisees work with young people one-on-one, helping them stay on top of the often overwhelming number of college admissions deadlines. The typical public high school guidance counselor is overworked and can only allocate less than 45 minutes total with a student during their entire high school career. Parents and students must pick up the slack but don’t have the time or resources that our trained professional college planners have readily at their fingertips.
Applying to College Isn’t Getting Any Easier
The college preparation process is getting more complex. With Class 101, parents know a professional college planner is guiding their child. Most Class 101 franchise owners have backgrounds in education, business or youth ministry, and they are extremely passionate about helping young people find the most affordable path to the most fitting college that suits their individual talents and needs.
Class 101 college planning franchisees stay on top of college application trends, filling a gap where high school guidance counselors fall short and providing valuable information to families who don’t know where to find such resources.
“Most high school students have 15 to 25 deadlines during the first 100 days of their senior year and apply to four or five colleges,” Tom says. “That adds up to four to five deadlines for admissions, four to five deadlines for scholarships and four to five deadlines for financial aid. High school guidance counselors don’t have the time or resources to monitor this process. Class 101 franchisees stay on top of all the latest developments so kids don’t miss opportunities.”
College Costs Are Rapidly Rising
As college tuition and college debt continue to rise, so do the stakes of college-bound teenagers choosing the right school, the right major and the right career path. With college costs rising at a rate of 6% above the rate of inflation (long-term), the time invested in hiring a Class 101 counselor offers an incredibly attractive ROI. The average college tuition and fee bill was 40% higher in 2015-16 at public four-year institutions than it was in 2005-06, and it was 26% higher in the private four-year sector, according to the College Board. More than 40 million Americans are saddled with student loan debt — collectively amounting to a staggering $1.3 trillion, and that figure is growing at the terrifying rate of nearly $3,000 per second, according to Experian.
“At Class 101 we are able to save families an average of $160,000 in merit-based scholarships alone. We have a huge referral rate once word spreads about the money we can help families save and we offer a sibling discount, which is appealing to families sending more than one child to school,” Tom says.
Learn More About Class 101 College Planning Franchise
The Class 101 business model ensures that owners have a steady stream of revenue throughout the year, not just during the school year. Franchise owners have three ways to generate revenue: classes to prepare students to excel at the ACT and SAT, organized campus trips and retainer agreements for one-on-one consulting services. Class 101 is a low-overhead business model with the potential for high revenue from day one. Several of our franchisees have surpassed the $100,000 revenue mark in their first or second year. The average gross revenue for our top 5 franchises in 2015, according to our most recent FDD, was $137,000.
For in-depth details about the Class 101 franchise opportunity, download our free franchise report. You can also learn more by visiting our research pages.
