Scholarship management software
Collect scholarship applications, check eligibility, run committee reviews and notify recipients in one place. Built for universities, schools and foundations, from the first application to the final award letter.
What is scholarship management software?
Scholarship management software is a platform for running scholarship programmes from application to award. It replaces web forms, spreadsheets and email threads with one system for collecting applications, checking eligibility, scoring them with a selection committee and telling applicants the outcome. Dapple does all of this, and lets you take scholarship application fees through your own Stripe account if your programme charges one.
How does scholarship management work in Dapple?
From the first application to the final award letter, every step of the scholarship cycle in one place.
Collect applications
Build branded scholarship application forms with multi-step sections, conditional logic, and document uploads — transcripts, references, portfolios, personal statements — in any file type or size. Applicants can save drafts and return, and automated reminders nudge anyone with an unfinished application before the deadline.
Explore forms & pagesScreen for eligibility
Put your hard requirements — age, location, enrolment status, required documents — at the front of the form so ineligible applicants find out early. Tag and filter incoming applications, and move them through customisable stages on a kanban board so committee members always know what's screened and what's pending.
Explore workflow managementReview with committees
Set up review rounds for your selection committee, with each member scoring, voting, and commenting through their own account. Hide applicant profiles for anonymous review where your policy requires it, and track reviewer progress — with one-click reminders for anyone falling behind.
Explore review toolsDecide and notify
See scores and rankings in one dashboard, move recipients to an awarded stage, and message groups in bulk — offers, waitlists, and regrets — using templates. Every application, score, and message stays on one record for your audit trail.
Explore projects & analyticsApplication forms
Scholarship application forms applicants finish
Scholarship applications are often long, and every abandoned form is a student you never hear from. Dapple's forms are clear, modern and work on any device, so more applicants make it to the end.
- Templates: Start from a ready-made scholarship template, or describe your scholarship and let AI build the form.
- Any document: Accept transcripts, references, personal statements, portfolios, video and audio, in any file type or size.
- Conditional logic: Show applicants only the questions that apply to them, such as course, year of study or residency.
- Save and return: Applicants can save a draft and come back, and automated reminders nudge anyone who hasn't submitted.
- Your branding: Add your logo, header and colours so the form looks like your university or foundation.
For universities
University scholarship application software
Universities rarely run just one scholarship. Run every award, bursary and studentship across departments in one account, with each team seeing only the programmes they manage.
- Every programme in one place: See applications, deadlines and analytics for all your scholarships from one dashboard.
- A form per scholarship: Give each scholarship its own form, eligibility rules, dates and committee.
- Teams and permissions: Set up teams for each faculty or department, with access only to their own applications.
- Single sign-on: Let staff sign in with Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, Okta or any OpenID Connect provider on the Pro plan.
- Reuse each year: Copy last year's scholarship in one click, with its form, stages and settings ready to reopen.
Committee review
Scholarship committee review
Give your selection committee a simple, fair way to score applications, without passing spreadsheets and PDFs between members.
- Review rounds: Run a first sift, a shortlist and a final committee or interview round, each with its own reviewers.
- Your criteria: Score against your own rubric, set the scoring scale, add comments and use Yes or No votes or your own options.
- Anonymous review: Hide names, schools or any other field so applications are judged on merit.
- Free reviewer accounts: Committee members see only the applications assigned to them, on any device.
- Ranked results: See average scores and votes for every applicant in one view, then move your shortlist on in one click.
Application fees
Scholarship application fees, if you need them
Most scholarships are free to apply for, and free applications carry no transaction fees in Dapple. If your programme does charge an application fee, take it inside the form.
- Paid to you: Fees go straight into your own Stripe account, on your usual Stripe payout schedule.
- Flexible fees: Set a single fee, several fees or a fee that only applies to certain applicants.
- Clear costs: Dapple charges 2% + £0.20, 2% + $0.25 or 2% + €0.20 per paid application, plus Stripe's own processing fees.
- No fee, no charge: Free scholarship applications carry no transaction fees at all.
Decide and notify
Decide and notify recipients
When the committee has decided, tell every applicant in a few clicks, and keep a full record of how each decision was made.
- Bulk messages: Send offers, waitlist notes and regrets to whole groups at once, using saved templates.
- Live status: Applicants can see where their application stands in their own account.
- Audit trail: Every application, score, comment and message stays on one record.
- Reports: Filter by programme, stage or score and export to CSV for your finance team or board.
Security
Secure enough for your procurement process
Scholarship applications hold personal data, so security comes as standard on every plan.
- Cyber Essentials: Dapple is Cyber Essentials certified, the UK government-backed scheme many universities and funders look for.
- Secure hosting: Built on SOC 2-certified AWS infrastructure, with all personal data encrypted.
- GDPR: Compliant with UK and EU GDPR, with a Data Processing Agreement on every plan.
- Permissions: Team members and reviewers only ever see the data they need.
- Payments: Card details are handled by Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 certified.
What to look for in scholarship management software
The questions worth asking any scholarship platform, and how Dapple answers them.
| What to check | Why it matters | Dapple |
|---|---|---|
| Application forms | Long, clunky forms lose applicants before they submit | Branded forms with templates, conditional logic, any file type and save-and-return drafts |
| Eligibility screening | Committees shouldn't spend time on applications that don't qualify | Eligibility questions up front, plus tags, filters and stages to sort applications |
| Committee review | Fair decisions need consistent criteria and independent scores | Review rounds with your own rubric, scoring scale, votes and comments |
| Anonymous review | Many scholarship policies require blind assessment | Hide any field from reviewers, from names to schools |
| Multiple programmes | Universities and foundations run many scholarships at once | Every scholarship in one account, with teams and permissions per programme |
| Application fees | Some programmes charge a fee, and most don't | Optional fees paid into your own Stripe account; free applications carry no fees |
| Security and GDPR | Applications hold sensitive personal data | Cyber Essentials certified, encrypted data, UK and EU GDPR compliant, DPA on every plan |
Frequently Asked Questions
Scholarship management software lets universities, schools, foundations and companies collect scholarship applications, check eligibility, run committee reviews and communicate decisions in one system. It replaces the mix of web forms, spreadsheets and email threads most programmes start with.
Look for application forms students will actually finish, a way to run many scholarships across departments with separate permissions, fair committee review with your own scoring criteria and anonymous review, and strong security. Dapple covers all of these, and is Cyber Essentials certified and compliant with UK and EU GDPR.
Universities, schools, foundations, trusts and companies running scholarship, bursary and fellowship programmes, often alongside other application rounds such as prizes or grants. You can run several teams and programmes in one account, each with its own permissions.
Yes. You can hide any field on the application form from reviewers, such as names, schools or contact details, so applications are scored on their merits. Each reviewer also scores privately in their own account.
Yes, if your programme needs one. Add a single fee, several fees or a fee that only applies to certain applicants to your form, and payments go straight into your own Stripe account. Dapple charges 2% + £0.20, 2% + $0.25 or 2% + €0.20 per paid application, plus Stripe's processing fees. Free applications carry no transaction fees.
Dapple plans start at $49/month, with no annual contract, and you can start free without a credit card. If your scholarship charges an application fee, payments go through your own Stripe account at 2% + $0.25 per paid application, plus Stripe's standard processing fees. Most scholarship programmes run free applications, which carry no transaction fees at all.
Yes. Run several scholarships side by side, each with its own form, deadlines, committee and stages, with combined analytics across all of them. You can also copy last year's scholarship in one click when it's time to reopen.
Dapple doesn't send payments itself, but fund management is built in. Set a total for each scholarship fund, allocate it across your recipients and track every payment schedule against your own dates. You then pay recipients through your own finance system as usual.
Yes. Dapple is Cyber Essentials certified, the UK government-backed standard many funders, universities and public bodies look for. It runs on SOC 2-certified AWS infrastructure, encrypts personal data and is compliant with UK and EU GDPR. A Data Processing Agreement is available on every plan, sign-in is passwordless, and single sign-on is available on the Pro plan.
Last updated October 2026.