SmarterSelect
Awards management software
Scholarship management software
Grant management software
Education software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is SmarterSelect
SmarterSelect is a web-based application and review platform used to manage scholarships, grants, and awards programs. It supports online applications, configurable eligibility and scoring workflows, and committee-based review to help organizations select recipients and track program outcomes. Typical users include scholarship foundations, K-12 districts, higher education institutions, and nonprofit or corporate giving programs. The product emphasizes form and workflow configuration for multi-stage selection processes and applicant communications.
Configurable application workflows
SmarterSelect supports configurable application forms, eligibility questions, and multi-step workflows that fit common scholarship and award processes. Programs can set up stages such as eligibility screening, reviewer scoring, and final committee decisions. This reduces reliance on manual spreadsheets and email-based routing. It aligns well with organizations running recurring cycles with consistent rules.
Committee review and scoring
The platform provides tools for assigning applications to reviewers and collecting scores and comments in a structured way. It supports rubric-style evaluation and helps consolidate reviewer input for decision-making. This is useful for programs that require multiple reviewers per application and auditability of decisions. It fits selection models used by scholarship and grant committees.
Applicant communication support
SmarterSelect includes features to manage applicant notifications and status updates as applications move through the process. Centralizing communications helps reduce missed messages and inconsistent outreach across reviewers or administrators. It also supports common needs like requesting additional information and sending award decisions. This is particularly relevant for education and nonprofit programs with high applicant volumes.
Limited event-centric capabilities
SmarterSelect focuses on application intake and review rather than event management. Organizations that run awards programs with complex event registration, ticketing, agendas, or onsite logistics may need additional tools. This can increase integration and administrative overhead. It is better suited to selection workflows than end-to-end event execution.
Integration depth varies
Compared with platforms that provide extensive prebuilt integrations and developer tooling, integration options may be more limited or require custom work. Connecting to CRMs, donor systems, identity providers, or data warehouses can take additional effort. This matters for enterprises with strict IT standards and automation requirements. Buyers should validate available APIs, SSO options, and export formats during evaluation.
Reporting and analytics constraints
While the product supports operational tracking, advanced analytics and highly customized reporting may require exports to external BI tools. Programs needing complex longitudinal outcomes reporting or cross-program dashboards may find native reporting insufficient. This can add manual steps for data preparation and governance. Reporting needs should be tested against real program scenarios before rollout.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Create | Contact SmarterSelect for pricing | 500 users/year; Unlimited programs; Support included; Online evaluation; Attach files; Per-file upload max 5MB; Survey responses/year: 1,000; No setup fees; Create customers use email ticketing support. |
| Enhance | Contact SmarterSelect for pricing | 2,500 users/year; Includes Create features plus Online Recommendations, App Rules, Autoscoring, App Rules, Autoscoring; Per-file upload max 10MB; Survey responses/year: 5,000; Live chat support available during support hours. |
| Enterprise | Contact SmarterSelect for pricing | 10,000 users/year; Includes Enhance features plus Scholarship Matching, Award Tracking, Single Sign-On (SSO), Advanced features; Per-file upload max 20MB; Survey responses/year: 20,000; Live chat and higher support. Note: SMS/local number for US & Canada requires $100 USD setup fee and $40 USD/year per local number (contact for international SMS pricing). |
