EDUCATION
Looking For Anthology Student Alternatives? Here’s What Actually Works in 2025
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11 min read 
Sometimes, good schools get burned by overhyped student information systems. When those systems don’t work, real students miss out on the support they need. And frankly, many institutions end up losing money on software that makes their jobs harder, not easier. Anthology Student often comes up in these conversations—and not always in a positive light. Some schools find themselves wondering if it’s time to jump ship, and looking for Anthology Student alternatives.
The Real Reasons Schools Are Looking for Anthology Student Competitors
Like any system, Anthology Student can introduce processes that take some adjustment for teams to manage effectively.
- Money: That initial quote from the sales process is a great starting point, but it’s worth factoring in an additional 40–50% for the extras that often come up—things like custom integrations, extended training, enhanced support packages, or consultants to fine-tune the setup. Once those are included, the final cost may look a little different.
- Processes: Every school has quirks – maybe your nursing program has clinical rotation requirements, or your art school needs digital portfolio management. Anthology Student is built with a particular view of how higher education should run, so if your processes are a little different, you might need to spend extra time making the system fit your way of working.
- Support: During enrollment season, when everything’s on fire and you need help NOW, getting someone on the phone who actually understands your problem is difficult. Meanwhile, you’ve got prospective students calling, and you may not even be able to pull their application status.
The dirty secret about student information systems is that they’re pretty good at managing students who are already enrolled. The real problem is everything that happens before that – the marketing, the lead nurturing, the application process, the enrollment funnel. That’s where most schools are actually bleeding students and money.
Your Student Information System (SIS) wasn’t built for marketing. It definitely wasn’t built for the kind of personalized, automated communication that actually converts prospects into enrolled students in 2025.
Why LeadSquared Is Your Go-to Solution
LeadSquared’s Higher Education CRM is designed with the real challenges of colleges, training institutes, career schools, and universities in mind. Whether it’s keeping up with inquiries, staying on top of follow-ups, or guiding students from their first touchpoint to enrollment, it helps admissions and marketing teams stay organized and efficient. With powerful automation, easy-to-understand insights, and tools that play well with your existing systems, LeadSquared makes it easier to connect with students—and helps you hit your enrollment goals without the usual stress.
- Marketing automation that actually works: Instead of the basic, old-school emails your SIS might send, LeadSquared lets you build actual marketing campaigns. Automated sequences based on student behavior, personalized messaging by program type, follow-up campaigns for dormant leads. And you don’t need a computer science degree to set it up.
- It catches leads before they disappear: Maybe a prospect filled out a form on Saturday night, and without the right system, you wouldn’t see it until Tuesday. Or a lead came in through social media and slipped through the cracks. With LeadSquared, that doesn’t happen—you capture every lead instantly and route it to the right person. You can set up workflows that handle everything from lead assignment to follow-ups, all triggered by real-time actions—not rigid, outdated templates.
- Lead nurturing that doesn’t feel robotic: Whether a prospect is ready to apply or just browsing, LeadSquared keeps the conversation going. Timely check-ins, personalized content, and behavior-based nudges make sure no one falls through the cracks—or forgets you exist.
- Analytics that actually help: Your current system probably gives you reports about enrolled students. Great. But what about the 80% of prospects who didn’t enroll? Where did they drop off? Which recruitment events are working? Which marketing channels are worth the investment? That’s the stuff admissions teams actually need to know.
Positive reviews:
- G2: 5 out of 5 stars— “It saves time, reduces manual work, and keeps everything updated in real time. I can easily track lead status, assign tasks, and get reminders.”
- Case Study— “We recognized the importance of having the right technology and processes in place as we grow, and LeadSquared came recommended. The system is so easy to learn and allows our admissions team to focus on supporting the student experience.”
Thinking About A Complete System Replacement?
Sometimes the SIS isn’t the solution – it’s simply doing what it was built to do, but it can’t do it all. If you’re at that point, here are some other alternatives that may work for you:
PowerSchool – the user-friendly option
PowerSchool is trying really hard to break into higher ed after dominating K-12. In some ways, they’re succeeding. Their interface and their mobile apps are actually decent.
Positive review:
G2: 4 out of 5 stars— “Vast selection of integrations. Relatively seamless integration with Active Directory and Google Admin. Intuitive interface for end-users.
But you can tell it wasn’t originally built for colleges. The financial aid section is basic, and if you’ve got complex programs or unusual requirements, you might find yourself doing workarounds constantly.
If you are a small community college, say in Texas, that mostly does workforce development programs—simple structure, straightforward needs—it works fine. But we wouldn’t suggest it if you are a university with graduate programs and research requirements.
Ellucian Banner – the nuclear option
Ellucian Banner is like the Swiss Army knife of student information systems – it can do absolutely everything, but using it feels like performing surgery with a chainsaw.
If you’re a large university with a dedicated IT team that has a lot of patience, Banner can be incredibly powerful. The reporting capabilities are good, and there’s basically no student information task it can’t handle.
Positive review:
- G2: 4 out of 5 stars— “..helps us to track communication and the admissions process with each student we work with at all stages of the funnel.”
The problem? Implementation takes a long time. You may start a projects and still be tweaking configurations years later. The learning curve is brutal, and the user interfaces look like they were designed by engineers for other engineers (which they probably were).
Ellucian Colleague is often positioned as the “Banner” system built for smaller institutions, but it still carries much of Banner’s complexity with it.
Already have Ellucian and looking for alternatives? Read this: Top 10 Ellucian Alternatives For 2025
Classter – the experiment
Classter is one of the newer platforms trying to combine SIS, LMS, and student management in one package. The appeal is obvious – one system to learn, one vendor to deal with, fewer integration headaches.
The interface is modern and pleasant. They’ve clearly thought about user experience in ways that older platforms haven’t.
Positive review:
- Capterra: 4.7 out of 5— “It has improved my organization and allows me to establish better relationships with the parents of the students.”
But here’s the thing about trying to do everything – you often end up doing nothing particularly well. The LMS features are okay. The SIS functionality is solid but missing some of the advanced features you might need.
We recommend it if you’re a small school that wants to simplify its technology stack.
Skyward – the budget-conscious choice
Skyward is another K-12 platform expanding into higher ed. The reporting is pretty impressive once you figure out how to use it, and it’s definitely more affordable than the big players.
Positive review:
- Gartner: 4 out of 5— “Skyward is a top tier SIS but what really sets them apart is their support.”
But like PowerSchool, the K-12 heritage shows. The interface isn’t intuitive, and getting the data you need often requires multiple attempts and some creative thinking.
It is a good option if the budget is tight and you have staff who don’t mind a learning curve.
What You Should Actually Care About When Evaluating
Forget the fancy demos and feature lists. Here’s what determines whether you’ll still like your choice in two years:
- Does it match your actual workflow? Not your ideal workflow or what the vendor thinks your workflow should be – your actual, messy, real-world processes. If the system forces you to completely change how you operate, it’s probably the wrong system.
- Will your team actually use it? Schools choose incredibly powerful systems that sit unused because they’re too complicated or slow. The best system is the one people actually want to use.
- What happens when things go wrong? Systems crash, integrations break, new requirements come up. Can you adapt? How quickly can you get help, and will that help actually solve your problem?
- Can it grow with you? Your needs will change – new programs, different requirements, evolving regulations. Make sure your solution can adapt without requiring another expensive overhaul.
The Actual Recommendation
Most schools looking for an Anthology Student alternative don’t need to blow up their entire technology infrastructure. They need to fix the specific parts that aren’t working – usually marketing automation, lead management, and enrollment optimization.
Adding something like LeadSquared to handle the front-end enrollment processes while keeping your existing SIS for student management often makes more sense than starting over from scratch. It’s less risky, and you can see results much faster!
The goal isn’t to have the most impressive technology setup. It’s to have systems that help you serve students better and grow enrollment without making your staff miserable.
Sometimes the smartest move is to stop fighting the system you have and start working around its limitations instead.
The Bottom Line
Your technology should make your job easier, not harder. If you’re spending more time managing your systems than using them to help students, something needs to change.
Whether that’s enhancing what you have or replacing it entirely depends on your specific situation. But don’t let anyone tell you that your frustrations with Anthology Student are just “part of the process.” Good systems exist – you just have to know where to look!
Consider LeadSquared.
FAQs on Anthology Student Alternatives
Why should I consider alternatives to Anthology Student?
While Anthology Student offers a wide range of features, some institutions find it overly complex or difficult to customize. Alternatives can offer more flexibility, ease of use, and better alignment with modern admissions and engagement workflows.
Can an alternative handle the full student lifecycle?
Some can, but not all. LeadSquared, for instance, is built to manage the complete student journey—from the first inquiry through enrollment and beyond—helping teams stay connected with students at every stage.
What should I look for in an Anthology Student alternative?
Look for a solution that’s easy to implement, user-friendly for staff, and capable of automating key processes—like inquiry management, nurturing, and enrollment tracking. Strong reporting and integration with your existing tools are also essential.
Is there an alternative that’s more intuitive for admissions and marketing teams?
Yes. Many schools are now turning to platforms like LeadSquared, which offer a more intuitive interface, quick setup, and automation features tailored for enrollment teams—without the steep learning curve.
How do alternatives compare in terms of support and onboarding?
One common frustration with large systems is slow or limited support. Many institutions appreciate the faster implementation timelines and more hands-on onboarding that alternatives like LeadSquared offer.
Are these alternatives scalable for larger institutions?
Absolutely. LeadSquared, for example, serves a range of institutions—from smaller colleges to vocational institutes to large universities—thanks to its customizable workflows and scalable architecture.
What kind of ROI can we expect from switching?
Many schools report improved inquiry-to-enrollment rates, better team efficiency, and increased visibility into the admissions pipeline after switching to a more agile platform like LeadSquared.
Do alternatives integrate with our existing systems like SIS or LMS?
Most modern CRM solutions, including LeadSquared, offer seamless integrations with popular SIS, LMS, and communication tools—so you don’t have to overhaul your entire tech stack.
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