# Page 3 | SmarterSelect Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 3 - 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 3 - Reviews of SmarterSelect ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 51-75 of 227 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use TC Tracy C. Program Specialist Program Development Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Working Smarter not More" September 6, 2022 5.0 Overall, I plan to keep using SmarterSelect for both our grant and scholarship programs. Pros The few things I like best about SmarterSelect is the ability to create, link and launch applications easily, manage multiple programs with various deadlines throughout the year, and the capability to bulk email applicants, evaluators and recommendations with a just a couple clicks. What use to take a week to organize with paper applications now takes half a day. Cons Every once is awhile there is a bug that needs fixing, but Customer Service quickly identifies issues and fixes them without delay. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect Smarter Select had everything we needed already built and ready to go. Review Source MM Michael M. Executive Director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It works" September 15, 2022 4.0 It works for what we do. Pros It was available in the time line we wanted to deploy it. The cost was not out of range for us. Cons It's kind of clunky and feels like one step above a green screen. Menus and navigation inside the programs feels confusing. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect Cost and ability to quickly deploy. Review Source MK Marian K. Project Director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "SmarterSelect makes scholarship management a breeze." September 6, 2022 5.0 Using SmarterSelect has made my job as the scholarship coordinator extremely easy and effortless. Pros Using SmarterSelect, we are able to easily manage 15+ separate scholarship opportunities. The common application feature allows our students to apply for multiple awards with one application (they are still required to complete a separate essay for each scholarship) eliminating extensive repetition of demographic information and extracurricular participation. In addition, all of our reviewers are able to complete their assignments online at their convenience. Cons I really haven't found there to be anything that I am unhappy with. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Research Coordination Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Flexible scholarship/award application management with a bit of a learning curve" September 13, 2022 5.0 Pros Easy for applicants and very flexible to meet the needs of many programs. Cons It is not immediately intuitive how to set things up and navigate through the administrative platform. Review Source mM maria M. scholarship director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Price to Quality" August 30, 2016 5.0 I've used this for 5 years and the experience has been excellent. Unlike other programs, the price is terrific for the quality of the program and ease of use. They have only expanded their features. While lacking a bit in the matching side, they have so much that can be implemented behind the scenes. Pros Easy to Use, Great price to quality for the program. Unlike others, they don't raise prices dramatically every year and have kept the prices down, which is great for smaller budgets. Also While keeping prices down they've added more and more features. All problems I've ever had have been user error and not with their program. With the mid-level package there's SO MUCH you can do behind the scene to evaluate and rank (although matching still remains elusive). Any service to the site they've given plenty of notice so we can let students know the site will be down. Site stability and speed has been great. Cons No number to call right when you're having a problem-you have to send an email. To be fair, this is responded to promptly, but still... Once you know how to use the program it's very easy but there's no manual. Videos/support site and the topics are ok and expanding. Webinars help but can sometimes lose focus. Review Source MT Michelle T. Manager, Youth Programs Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "SmarterSelect software review- nonprofit bursaries" September 12, 2022 5.0 great experience overall- customer service is excellent and as a consumer that's very appreciated. Pros easy to use, amazing customer service for questions with quick replies. applicants and reviewers had no trouble whatsoever and that's extremely important to us. Cons everything is great but creating "groupings" of applicants can be complicated because they can't be edited- makes for repeat groupings/views. Reason for choosing SmarterSelect Great customer service through the selection process, and price. Review Source KW Kristine W. Career Advisor/Student Advocate Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Amazing platform for what we need" September 15, 2022 5.0 Our overall experience has been a success. Applications are easy to set up and export to our website or whatever platform we need them to export to. Students have an easy way to apply for the different scholarships and grants we offer and we are able to track very easily who has applied, and been awarded for our reporting. Pros This platform is easy and manageable for both staff and students Cons We do not really have anything we do not like about this software/platform Review Source KB Kevi B. Programs and Engagement Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Review of SmarterSelect" September 12, 2022 5.0 It has been such a simple process and we have all the information at our fingertips. Pros The ease of use and when I need help, help is available within seconds. Cons What I like least is that when my reviewers get done reviewing the applications, there is NOT a notification to me, so I know to go back in and read the reviews and take the time to keep checking in to see if all the reviews are done. Review Source Sara L. Director (EMERGE) Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "User friendly platform that streamlines application management" November 17, 2017 5.0 It's a much easier to manage our EMERGE application process. It's easy for students to use and for staff to use. Pros It's a professional, more streamlined way of managing applications, especially the review of applications. Cons It can be difficult to know about all of the features. For example, on Google Forms, I can easily customize questions to take people to a different page based on a response. I don't know how to do that in Smarterselect, but I'm sure there's a way. Review Source Response from SmarterSelect November 20, 2017 Hi Sara, Thanks for your review! I'll have our Support reach out to you with info on how to use App Rules. Thanks, Robert JP Julie P. Director of Programs Philanthropy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Feedback" September 6, 2022 3.0 Pros Software is intuitive to use. Easy for applicants to use without significant training. Cons Needs a more robust ability to build selection criteria. Review Source DF David F. Professor of Marketing Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It works for scholarships, grants and more" September 19, 2022 4.0 We use SmarterSelect in conjunction with our parent organization who uses it for scholarships. We use it to track conference submissions. While it is more designed for scholarship and grant use, it serves well for what we do. Pros The best part is the ability to download PDFs of all submissions to work with offline. Cons Menu system is clunky until you get very comfortable navigating it. Review Source NM Nancy M. Operations Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "SmarterSelect for ease of handling scholarship applications" August 30, 2016 5.0 I had no experience with a platform such as this but the support made it easy to learn and we have totally utilized it to the max. It will make your life easy if you let it. Pros App Rules and external recommendations are pretty easy to navigate. The scoring system is complex but worth it! Will save soooooo much time moving forward. Cons If you use the internal messaging function (including texting) there is no record to look back on. Huge flaw IMO. Review Source Response from SmarterSelect September 9, 2016 Hi Nancy, Thanks for your review! Stay tuned for a log of messages in the near future. Darla S. Executive Director Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very easy to customize and great customer support!" November 24, 2020 5.0 I am very pleased with SmarterSelect. It saves us time by having the matching questionnaire that allows for scholarship matching. Pros I liked the free trial to set up unique programs with the help of customer support. All free set up work was saved and usable after purchasing the product. It is very easy to customize the unique programs and link to a common application. It allows for scholarship matching. Cons I'd like it if unique program dates such as deadline dates could be synced with common application deadline dates so I would not have to edit all of the uniques annually. Alternatives considered [Blackbaud Award Management](https://www.capterra.com/p/140271/AcademicWorks/) Reason for choosing SmarterSelect More inexpensive. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer College Counselor/College Prep Instructor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It's Worth It" September 6, 2022 5.0 Pros I like that once familiar with Smarter Select, you're able to have the ease and stress-free experience of managing scholarships that are difficult to put in one place. Cons Nothing comes to mind at the moment. Smarter Select is top notch. Review Source LS Lauren S. Executive Assistant Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great option for smaller organizations" September 15, 2022 4.0 Smarter Select is flexible enough to meet all of our needs and the technical support is always so helpful. Pros I love that it is online and that users can have multiple roles, which is key in our small town and organization Cons The reporting after someone receives a grant is not integrated into one grant application. It would be nice to be a one, stop application. Review Source SS Sharon S. District Scholarship Coordinator Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The best for the job!" August 31, 2016 5.0 Our school district worked with a Word document application for years and really needed to advance to an online application process. Our tech department suggested rather than create something that may not work, that we search for a product reasonably priced that included a good support system. The tech department was shocked how reasonably priced and how advanced SmarterSelect's product was! Pros SmarterSelect listens to their customers and are constantly looking for ways to further improve. Their tech support is the best. They address every question quickly and with thought to answering in such a way that I understand the solution. I never am led to feel my question was too small. Cons n/a Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Chapter Educational Resource Coordinator Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "We have used this program to evaluate our chapters and enable them to define a year-long plan." November 16, 2017 4.0 Pros I like the logic components the most. I makes it easier to ask in depth questions. The calculation options allow us to ask questions that we normally would not receive an answer for. Cons I wish there was a way to send the feedback from evaluators back to the original "applicants". I wish we could pull the reports with more than 20 questions. Review Source JO Joanne O. Communications and Scholarship Officer Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Get Bang for Your Buck" August 31, 2016 4.0 We were looking for a cost effective online software package that would be easy for our users (students applying), evaluators and administrators. This software provides what we were looking for. Once the product was introduced, we have been tweeking it to fit our needs and make it a better user experience for both those applying and those reviewing the applications. SmarterSelect has been very responsive to our needs and worked with us to find solutions to most of our requests for assistance. Pros Ease of use and fantastic customer support. Cons Some places not flexible enough to provide what we need; and the fact that you cannot get aggregate reporting. Review Source Response from SmarterSelect September 9, 2016 Hi Joanne, Thanks for your feedback! Stay tuned for aggregate reporting coming soon. AP Amber P. Workforce Development Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Love it!!" September 16, 2022 5.0 The customer service has been great and I was able to get my now program up and running quickly. Pros I love that with being an AGC chapter we were able to get this product for a great price. Making one scholarship into 2 makes it easier on the student and evaluators Cons When using a program from the library and trying to customize is difficult and I don’t like that I had to delete sections and start over. Didn’t like that I could not copy a question to pasted into another program. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Program Officer Philanthropy Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Help with Grants" September 12, 2022 4.0 Pros Everything is there, basic demographics, narratives, numbers and purpose. Cons Exporting easy but data clean up is cumbersome. Should have an accessible knowledge base to search for answers to easy fixes Review Source VR Victoria R. Testing Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Submitting a help request" November 14, 2018 4.0 Generally the product works fairly smoothly. I wish there was an easier way to find a student than clicking on applicants and ALL applicants have to appear before I can search for the one applicant I need. If there are many applicants, the process takes several minutes. Pros I did receive an answer fairly quickly. I don't know why I can't get to the next page of this review. Cons It was difficult to find the help feature Review Source AP Alyssa P. Program Director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Scholarship Management System" September 19, 2022 5.0 Not only is this easy for our applicants, but has made reviewing and scoring the applications simple as well. Pros It is very user friendly and customizable to meet the needs of our scholarship application and reviewers. Cons I would like it to be a little easier to quickly view an application or see which sections they have completed. Review Source CM Clarissa M. Grants Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "C.Montes Review" September 6, 2022 5.0 Pros I like how this software is easy to use. The customer service is also exceptional. If I run into trouble, my questions is answered quickly. Cons I have no comment about what I like lead about this software. It is pretty simple and the tutorials are very helpful. Review Source NW Nancy W. scholarship administrator Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Online scholarships made easy" August 29, 2016 5.0 SmarterSelect started hosting our online scholarship last year. I admit that I was apprehensive. I had been with our previous host for nearly 12 years (they changed their business model so I was left looking for a new site at the last minute). SmarterSelect's staff guided me through set up and learning their new system. Customer service is very good. I always get a quick response, and it is easy to set up a phone or web conference with the staff. And they are very good about helping you think through the logic of your questions and the question formats that will get you the information you want. I'm very impressed and very glad our program signed on with SmarterSelect. Pros Very easy to use. Once you understand the logic of the software, it is very easy to set up your own application. I found the evaluation process easy to understand and use as well. Cons I wish there were a guide to explain the hierarchy of the application design. I stumble around creating and deleting pages, until I can figure out what I want to do. If there were a prompt you could click on that explained this easily, I would appreciate it. I don't create a new scholarship application so frequently that I can keep this memorized. Review Source KD Kristen D. Membership / Marketing Services Coordinator Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Our association couldn't be happier!" November 28, 2017 5.0 The ability to use this software for many different areas of our business. It has expanded more than we had originally intended because of the success rate with the program. Pros We love that it is so versatile! We are able to adjust each program to meet our needs and easily contact support if needed. The evaluation process is super easy as well! Cons The inability to merge program data with other program data without exporting out of the website. It would be nice to be able to move applications into different programs, especially those that are repeats. 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