# Page 2 | SmarterSelect Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 2 - Is SmarterSelect the right Scholarship Management solution for you? Explore 227 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/140270/SmarterSelect/reviews --- SmarterSelect 4.4 (227) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/140270/SmarterSelect/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Page 2 - Reviews of SmarterSelect ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 26-50 of 227 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use MR Maggie R. Educational Grant Officer Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A great system for Grant applications " September 14, 2022 5.0 Fantastic experience and we are so pleased to be using it. Great asset to our application system and it is all we use now for all our programs. Only downside is the support system - which if you are not a tech person can be difficult to understand as you have to explain what your problem is in messages. Just wish you could get phone support and speak to a person . It is great though when they offer to get into your machine and then walk you through it. Pros Smarter Select is so easy to use. It can be adapted so that you can ask the questions that you require for your grant or funding. The customizable feature is great plus the added bonus of being able to put tips besides questions for applicants to see as they fill in, so that they get the right information in. Being able to create a Frequently Asked Question area, was simply and easy to do and a big help and stopped us getting so many phone or email enquiries . Its an all in one package, you have your applications and then you also have the email facility to send emails to them regarding application queries and more importantly about when funding is awarded. Being able to have review section to make a summary for the review team awarding funding to be able to just read and then award is a fantastic help not just for grants but also our scholarships as saves them time reviewing the whole application. Everything that you need for applications is there at your fingertips or should I say keyboard. Being able to lock applications so that applicants cant go back in and change things on the forms once you have done an initial review is a big help as applicants cant help going back and tweaking things even once after they press submit. So pleased we found that facility after a couple of application cycles. Cons Sometimes upload is difficult for applicants to use, they have problems as the platforms that they use are not compatible to the systems that can be used. The fact that the body of an email (personal message box) will not let you put in an email address different to what is outside of the letter, and if you put one in and press send it then makes the email disappear and then you have to re write it. The support system is a bit hit and miss depending on how much technical knowledge you have and who you get replying to your enquiry. Chat - itself find that it never really solves the problem and have to request to speak to someone. Review Source JR Janna R. Grants Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Useful but needs improvement" September 6, 2022 4.0 Overall, Smarter Select has made collecting and evaluating grant applications more efficient. I find that I have to constantly re-learn how to do simple things in the software; it's a bit cumbersome to use and often confusing. Pros It's easy to customize the application forms, easy to invite reviewers. I like not having to track emailed applications and attachments - Smarter Select makes it easy to collect applications and attachments! Cons Downloading applications is cumbersome and applicants find using Smarter Select confusing - it doesn't autosave their work, but the "Save" button is greyed out and inconspicuous. Review Source JH Jessica H. Sr. HR Specialist Mining & Metals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great software with some room for minor improvements" September 6, 2022 5.0 Overall the experience has been a positive one. Customer Service is always helpful and responsive. I wish that it were possible to speak with CS over the phone sometimes though, because instant messaging or email isn't always the fastest. I enjoy the software and it's capabilities. We also use the software for purposes outside of scholarship and it's been a great asset there as well. Pros There are a lot of great things about this software. I enjoy the ability to customize the site easily, even for those without any sort of web-design knowledge. Being able to send reminders from within the platform is a great time-saver and helpful. The applicants who've used it seem to be able to operate it without much trouble, including from mobile devices. The reports feature is critical for us to track and make notes outside of the platform via Excel. Being able to amend the applicants records and attachments is also simple and helpful when they're running into issues or user errors. Cons The reminder feature for scholarship applicants could be clearer. In my experience, in order to send reminders to those on "incomplete" statuses and "pending" statues you have to go to two separate parts of the site. It's not the most clear. There's almost too many features. I wish there was a bit more simplicity. It can be very time-consuming. When our reviewers (independent scholarship committee) go into do their part, we've found that the software sometimes will not hold their ratings even though they are saving as they go. This results in a 0 being given in certain categories which was really mess up the metrics. This also requires additional time being spent reviewing the scores to catch any software errors. Review Source CW Cheryl W. Accountant Philanthropy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "DCF Review of Smarter Select" September 12, 2022 5.0 Smarter Select has streamlined our grant and scholarship work which is very important with a small staff. Pros The application creation and design is very easy. The autoscoring, bulk e-mail messaging, data export, copying of existing programs for the next year, application review are all great features that make the grant and scholarship application very smooth. We use the common application for our scholarships which eliminates duplicate data entry for the same questions on the part of applicants. Cons It would be nice to be able to import applications into other software. It looks like in the last question in the survey askes about integrating with other products. I would like more information on that. Also while the e-mail support works sometimes it would be nice to be able to speak to someone in person. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect Very easy to use and also cost effective. Review Source JP Jessica P. Fundraising & Program Specialist Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great product for the price" September 6, 2022 4.0 Pros It's incredibly user friendly and easy for applicants to use. Our evaluators are also happy with product's ability to be so user friendly. Their customer service is phenomenal, fast, friendly and useful. Cons I would love to be notified, per program, of evaluators completing their evaluations. The logic of some questions could also use some improvements. I also wish there was a way to copy a question so I didn't have to repeat the work multiple times. Alternatives considered [Submittable](https://www.capterra.com/p/158382/Submittable/) Reason for choosing SmarterSelect price Review Source KK Kim K. Office Manager/Program Assistant Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Affordable" September 12, 2022 4.0 Overall, it has been a good experience and the price has been reasonable for our small office. Even with the price increase it is understandable. I just want to make sure we are using what is available to us as changes to the software are made and our grandfathered price increases. Pros It is very affordable and does what we need it to. I like to be able to have a common application for scholarships and to customize the specific scholarships. The online evaluation makes it easy and online recommendations, too. Cons Applicants get confused about having to click the APPLY button to "CREATE" a final grant report. It is confusing to them. They think they are applying for another grant which isn't the case. Also, the very tiny save button at the bottom of the grant applications and final reports gets missed and the information is not saved which is frustrating for the grantees because they have to start over. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect We have been with smarterselect since their start and there have been other products made available over the years. We are looking for something that is compatible with QB and other DMS options like Community Suite. They come with a price, too. Review Source EM Erika M. Foundation Coordinator Philanthropy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "DCF review" September 6, 2022 4.0 Generally, it's very good. Support is helpful and the application is easy to use. Pros We love that the forms are customizable and are easy to set auto-calculation and autoscoring features. That is by far the best thing about SS! It is also easy for most of our evaluators to use, even first timers. Cons Okay, sorry, a few things. Firstly, although the evaluation is easy, having to scroll through the evaluations is inconvenient for our reviewers. I think drop-downs or a side-by-side review interface might be more practical. Secondly, the delete feature should be able to be canceled within a few seconds/minutes to avoid any permanent issues. Also, it would be great for us to be able to customize the css somewhat to adhere to our branding. Review Source TN Terri N. executive director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Making it work for our needs...." September 6, 2022 4.0 Having the ability for applicants to apply online is critical to our operation and staying current and relevant. SmarterSelect has been helpful but there are limitations to the software for the ways that we use it. Pros As a super small non profit we needed a way to allow applicants to apply to our program and the services that we offer via an online application. We worked with smarter select to customize the application as much as the platform currently allows. Cons Not super user friendly for our needs. We need it for online application purposes. The software was set up mainly for grant purposes. Review Source KD Karen D. Associate Commissioner Sports Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Smarter Select Review by NCHSAA" September 6, 2022 4.0 We have used the Smarter Select platform for over 6 years and find it to work well for our various programs. There are numerous capabilities within the platform which we are still learning as staff turns over or duties shift but we are quite pleased with the Smarter Select platform. Pros This software is very customizable and allows us to create applications for a number of programs including recognition programs, scholarships, grants, weekly submissions for performance recognition. The simple sign in process is great, too, for new users. The filters are great and allow you to segment the data according to your needs. Customer service has always responded promptly to any questions I have and the online support information is fairly comprehensive. Cons Learning how to set up applications, how to filter data, and getting a basic feel for how to use the platform is essential and requires some time to navigate through all of the features. Review Source DS Debbie S. Program Officer Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "SmarterSelect for Grants and Scholarships" August 29, 2016 4.0 We have been a SmarterSelect "Bells & Whistles" subscriber since 2012. A a county-wide community foundation we utilize the program for our annual community grant cycle, multiple teacher grant programs, and over 40 scholarship programs. Each of these programs including a application, grant acceptance, and final report component. We evaluated multiple software programs before selecting SmarterSelect and continue to review programs recommended by our field. We have not found another program that offers the flexibility, features, and functionality of SmarterSelect. The SmarterSelect development team is receptive to ideas for new/enhanced features and is very responsive to issues. Pros The program continues to evolve in response to user input. Technical support and online tutorials make program creation and editing simple. The ability to copy & edit programs makes preparation for annual grant & scholarship cycles quick and easy. The creation of 40+ scholarship programs, some requiring unique applications and some utilizing a common application was initially a daunting task, but once the initial time investment was made, each year requires less and less time. The program itself is not difficult to use. The more complex and diverse your needs, the more complex the process becomes; however, an information technology or programming specialist is not required. Cons Latency. The time it takes to move between applications can cause frustration for system administrators and evaluators. Review Source Jessica S. Foundation Managing Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "From scholarship application to chapter evaluation" November 2, 2018 5.0 As our chapter success plan process relies heavily on administrator access, multi-end user access, and evaluator access, SmarterSelect has been a perfect solution for use for this project. Pros We have used the system for years as part of our scholarship and fellowship application process. This past year, we introduced a new chapter planning and evaluation tool for our organization. We decided to put this tool in SmarterSelect because of the ease of use by both the administrator and the end-user. The ability to have the end-user save work and come back has been invaluable. Since this is an evaluation tool, the ability to give multiple individuals evaluator access was a key factor in our decision to put this process in SmarterSelect. Cons The form builder fuction can be confusing at times. Review Source Laura M. Executive Director Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Switched from emailed applications to SmarterSelect - saved us a ton of time!" November 16, 2017 4.0 Pros Soooo streamlined! I love that I can customize the application to meet my needs. Students say it's a much better process on their end, and I get better results because the parameters of the app require them to upload certain file types, require answers to some questions, and flag if they miss any questions. A huge time saver on the administrative time for me - and there are reports I can pull throughout the application period to keep my finger on the pulse of things. Plus, my evaluators can quickly review the apps and rank them without needing to open and download lots of files - and again, easy to pull reports. Huge timesaver and brings us into the 21st century! Cons The learning curve is there - it takes a while to get the knack of things. And setting up the application and revising it to be exactly what you want can be cumbersome. There's not a great way to test the application other than creating "fake" applications to ensure everything works smoothly. That said - it works very well for our needs and allows me to process more apps in less time with much less frustration for both me and our candidates! Review Source WB Willis B. Co-Director Philanthropy Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "The Initiative" September 15, 2022 5.0 The Initiative was able to experience its first round-Request for Proposal to grant awards with no major flaws, customizatiobs Pros The product was easy to use by the applicants to our initiative, by the evaluators who reviewed the proposals submitted and by Initiative staff who managed the process and who had to extract data for our management review and decision making. This was our maiden experience and we had no system breakdown. Cons Grant management team would need to supply this answer. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect Seemed to have the features we needed. We also had several comfortable conversations with SS staff, sales and system design, before our unanimous choice. Review Source MS Meg S. Program Associate Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "NCCF Review" September 12, 2022 4.0 Good! Program is solid, and when I'm confused your customer support is always really responsive and helpful. Pros Customizable, has recommender feature so recs can come through the same system (which is missing from competitors), and easy to export information Cons UI isn't always clear, so I spend a lot of time playing customer support rep with applicants. Review Source Olivia C. Stewardship and Advancement Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Beyond excellent, especially for a beginner! " November 16, 2017 5.0 Pros SmarterSelect is so easy to use. If I can't figure something out by simply trying different things, I can quickly and easily find helpful tutorials in the library. If something is so hard that I still can't figure it out-- which I don't recall ever happening-- customer support is super fast and responsive when i put a ticket it. Cons I wish I could archive deleted programs so that I don't have to sort through them, without losing the applications completely. I would just like to move the ones I know I will probably never need again out of the "disabled" section and only keep the ones from the past year or two in that section. Review Source tC travis C. Counselor Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Two years and going strong!" September 15, 2022 4.0 It was rather simple process. At times though do to the change over in my office my partners have trouble watching the videos and learning how to utilize the program. Pros We really like that we can open and close the scholarship process just by setting up the dates ahead of time. We like that with our common application students can fill out one application but be eligible for multiple scholarships. It is easy to set up an additional requirement if scholarship committees choose to do so. Cons I don't like the tiers you need to buy just to add the Spanish language. When everything in our education system is setup to support Spanish speakers it seems lame a program that cost so much cannot support Spanish speakers unless we upgrade. Our reviewers have said it would be nice if the scholarships were separated into two files completed and incomplete rather than having to go through and separate them one at a time. I think there may be a setting to send completed ones to the reviewers but they like getting them all but would prefer the program separate them rather than lump them all together. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect Ease of use and financial commitment. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Development Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "My daily go to" September 6, 2022 5.0 We use SmarterSelect for our grants and scholarships. It is easy to pull analytics, create applications, approve and share with evaluators. Pros How easy it is to pull up reports and customize data Cons Unable to search a single person across multiple grant applications. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect n/a Review Source AR Alex R. Program Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Value & Top Notch Support" November 13, 2018 5.0 Exceptional!!! Bottom line this software is excellent​! And the customer service is by far first rate. Pros SmarterSelect is very easy to use and the customer support is exceptional. Our organization has been using SmarterSelect for several years and the software continues to get better. I like that they continue to improve the software. I also like they make it a point to train their customers on their new features and upgrades. Cons There is not much that I do not like about the software. There are some back-end reporting things that I find cumbersome such as when a parent/guardian creates an application for their son or daughter that person's name appears on the reports first not the actual applicant's​ name. This poses a challenge when you are looking up applications by the applicant's name. Another issue with this is the recommender receives an email that does not say the actual applicant's name. The recommender does not see the name of the actual applicant until he​ or she opens the email. For example, if I create an account and start an application for my son Anthony, the recommender would receive an email that says Alex Rivera has requested that you submit a recommendation for the Achieve Scholarship. It is not until the email is opened that the recommender sees that Anthony is the actual person applying for the scholarship. This is often confusing for the recommenders. ​ Review Source Response from SmarterSelect November 15, 2018 Hi Alex, Many thanks for your review! Regarding the parent situation, just have the applicant/parent click My Account to change the First and Last Name to the student's name. Thanks again! Robert AH Amy H. Office Manager Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "SmarterSelect Review" September 15, 2022 5.0 Overall, we have been very happy with the product and the customer service has always been prompt and helpful. Thank you! Pros I like the ability to customize the questions to what I need and I like being able to manage all the applicants in one place. Cons I export my data and then manipulate it in Excel but reporting may be a better way to do this. I need to look into that more. Also, we ask so many questions in our scholarship application that our calculations are sometimes slow that they don't always calculate without refreshing the calculations. Review Source TS Tressa S. Foundation Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for the value - cumbersome to learn. " September 21, 2022 4.0 SmarterSelect has been an effective tool for scholarship management and tracking. The online training forums move very quickly. I can usually find posts of similar issues when troubleshooting which is nice to resolve and move on. Pros I have no basis for comparison with other software. I feel SmarterSelect is a great value, especially for smaller organizations. It provides all of the functions needed. Cons I'm not sure that I've learned all of the many tools available in this software. I dislike the long pause in between changing from one option to another. I wish once you left a record, it didn't leave a separate tab open. Ideally, it would so convenient to be able to have multiple views at one time. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect n/a Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Events Coordinator Events Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Smarter Select and Competition Submissions" November 2, 2018 4.0 Smarter Select saves time for me in my work day. I like how I can easily pull a report and add evaluators. I love your "Support" tab on Smarter Select. Pros I really love how user friendly this is for Evaluators Cons There are a bunch of tabs on the side of the program that I don't know how to use. For Example... it takes me a ton of time to try and find how I change the abstract Review Source Response from SmarterSelect November 15, 2018 Hi, Many thanks for your review! Please reach out to our Support team and they will be happy to schedule a training session for the tabs on the side of the program. Regards, Robert EG Enrique G. Manager, Research and Innovation Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "SmarterSelect Helpful Tool" September 6, 2022 4.0 Juggling multiple grants, I am glad we had a software that could help us collect the data we needed, while remaining current on compliance requirements. I can't wait to learn more about its other capabilities. Pros I started with my organization and jumped into using SmarterSelect by the second day. My supervisor explained the software, which turned out to be extremely easy to understand and use. I was able to pick it up relatively quickly. SmarterSelect provides you many tools for best practices that have helped me throughout my time with my organization. Cons SmarterSelect sometimes glitches in terms of permissions. Occasionally, since I am a user and administrator, I get an error indicating I am not allowed to access certain things. This can be remedied by logging out and back into the system. Review Source MK Mike K. President Philanthropy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Smarter Select Provides Value, Function, and Efficiency" November 9, 2018 5.0 It's been a very beneficial experience. We've seen an increase in our grant and scholarship applications after moving to an online system. The Smarter Select team is always quickly available to help if we have an issue or question. And simply having an online application system makes us appear to be an advanced organization that meets our community's technological needs. Pros Our staff loves how fast and easy it is to create custom applications with a host of unique and useful functions. Our review committees enjoy being able to have online access to applications -- it makes their job a whole lot easier! And our applicants enjoy the ease and efficiency of being able to apply online. All in all, Smarter Select positively enhances our grant and scholarship application process while positioning us as a leader in our community. Cons If I could offer any improvement, it would be to add some additional options that could help to brand the system so that applicants can visually recognize which organization the are applying for support to. Another foundation in our region just purchased and implemented Smarter Select and this created some confusion for the non-profits in our region. We do include our logo at the top of the program for our applications, but it would be nice if there were ways to add it other places or on the log-in screen. Review Source Response from SmarterSelect November 14, 2018 Hi Mike, Many thanks for your feedback and comments! We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and your team. Regards, Robert SM Stephanie M. Project Lead for the OSV Challenge Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "We will keeping on using Smarter Select" September 21, 2022 4.0 Smarter Select has helped us expedite our goals with the OSV Challenge and that has been wildly beneficial. Pros We were able to design and customize each of our applications. The onboarding for the program was easy. We also liked the features that we would use with the evaluators as well. Cons There are a few components of the exporting system that aren't as intuitive as the rest of the system. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect We were able to onboard the program quickly and easily Switched from [Fluxx Grantmaker](https://www.capterra.com/p/146625/Fluxx-Software-for-Grantmakers/) Fluxx was difficult to navigate and use Review Source Chris M. Case Manager Mental Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "SmarterSelect" April 14, 2019 4.0 Having applicants that can apply online and have all of their information readily available makes our lives so much easier. Pros It is very easy to learn even if you are not the most tech savvy individual. Being given the option of customizing applications is a great way to be able to get straight to the information that you are looking for in applicants. No more worries about manually inputting data for hours! Cons When switching from one application to another, I sometimes find that it takes longer than it should. Other than this, I am completely satisfied with SmarterSelect. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.