# Blackbaud Enrollment Management System vs Sawyer: which admissions and enrollment management platform works best for mid-size educational institutions?

<p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">Two of the top names on the <a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/categories/admissions-and-enrollment-management">admissions and enrollment management</a> Grid tell very different stories in the reviews: Blackbaud Enrollment Management System and Sawyer. We've been looking at this comparison for a piece on mid-size institutions and the more we read, the more these two seem to serve genuinely different operational contexts rather than competing for the same buyer.</p><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true"><strong>What makes this comparison worth settling:</strong></p><ul>
<li>Blackbaud EMS is built around integration with the broader Blackbaud ecosystem covering billing, SIS, and financial aid</li>
<li>Sawyer is built specifically for children's activity and enrichment program providers managing camps, classes, and after-school programs</li>
<li>The reporting experience differs significantly between the two</li>
<li>The admin overhead and technical capacity needed to run each day to day is very different</li>
</ul><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">What the reviews actually describe for each:</p><ul>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/blackbaud-enrollment-management-system/reviews"><strong>Blackbaud Enrollment Management System</strong></a><strong>:</strong> Admissions data flows automatically into billing and student records without manual imports; digital checklists, electronic contracts, and automated reminders replace paper-heavy workflows. Building contracts, assigning payments, and navigating the backend can be tricky for non-technical staff, and reports don't always pull accurately for some mid-market users who keep a separate spreadsheet alongside it.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/sawyer/reviews"><strong>Sawyer</strong></a><strong>:</strong> Easy-to-use admin interface with student information organized and available in one place; programs sortable into categories, a calendar view of scheduled classes, group and individual messaging to families, and waitlist management with an invite-to-join button. Pulling reports requires someone comfortable with Excel given the number of options available, and navigating to specific events can require backing out and re-entering.</li>
</ul><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">For mid-size institutions that have used either: what was the specific workflow that made one the clearer fit, and did the reporting hold up the way you needed it to in practice?</p>

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: 16 days ago
- Author title: Marketing Executive
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);&quot;&gt;From my analysis, the deciding factor is usually the specific workflow and how much technical capacity the team has day to day, since reporting on both apparently rewards someone comfortable in a spreadsheet.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: 14 days ago
- Author title: Marketing





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