Want to explore options beyond an education loan to fund your MBA? Here's a list of the top 20 scholarships that will help your education.

With MBA programmes getting more expensive each year, students look for more ways to get funding for their studies.

From an average of 2-3 lakhs a few years ago, the cost has shot up to an average of 5-6 lakhs and in good schools the cost is over 10 lakhs at least for a two-year programme.

So to ensure that deserving students are not left out due to high fees quite a few institutes and trusts offer support through merit-cum-need scholarships, bursaries, topper discounts and complete fee waivers.

Here is a compilation of scholarships offered by select B-schools in the country.

1. Amity Business School

100 percent Scholarship: Candidates who obtain minimum 93 percent aggregate marks (excluding Physical Education, Fine Arts & Performing Arts) in Class 12 of CBSE/ICSE Board and 80 percent marks in graduation are eligible.

50 percent Scholarship: For students who secure 88 percent marks in aggregate and above in Class 12 of CBSE/ICSE and 75 percent marks in their graduation.

Merit-cum-means scholarships: Five students are awarded a scholarship of Rs. 10,000 each.

Corporate scholarships: Two meritorious students are awarded a scholarship of Rs. 10,000 each.

Scholarship of Rs 30,000: Students who have secured 80 percent aggregate marks in their class 10, class 12 and graduation are eligible.

Entrance test based scholarships: Students with 60 percent aggregate marks in their class 10, class 12 and graduation and the following percentile in entrance tests:

Rs 40,000: 90 percentile or above in CAT 2011/XAT 2012 OR 99 percentile or above in MAT (Sept 2011, Dec 2011, Feb, 2012, May, 2012)/ATMA 2012/CMAT 2012/State Govt. Tests 2012

Rs 30,000: 80 percentile or above in CAT 2011/XAT 2012 or 96 percentile or above MAT (Sept 2011, Dec 2011, Feb, 2012, May, 2012)/ ATMA 2012/CMAT 2012/State Govt. Tests 2012

In case a student is eligible for both the above mentioned criteria, they can choose the best option.

Need-based scholarships are on offer for economically weak students who wish to pursue the PGP and PGP-ABM from the institute.

The scholarship amount is decided on the basis of annual gross family income and some more factors. Apart from income-linked tuition fee waiver scholarships, the institute also offers the following schemes:

Family Income Linked Tuition Fee Waiver Scheme: Students who wish to pursue PGP and PGP-ABM and whose total family income does not exceed Rs. 6 lakh in the last financial year are eligible for the fee waiver scheme.

IIMA Special Scholarships (need-based): Students who wish to pursue the postgraduate programmes and whose gross annual family incomes did not exceed Rs. 200,000 during the last financial year are eligible to apply for scholarships up to full tuition fee under the IIMA Special Scholarship Scheme (ISSS). Family income is taken to mean the income of parents/guardians and spouse. It does not include income earned by the student or the student's siblings.

Industry Scholarships (need-based): Students who are ineligible to apply for the IIMA special scholarships can apply.

SC/ST Scholarships: All SC/ST students in the postgraduate programmes are awarded Rs. 150 per month for 10 months.

GOI Merit-cum-Means Scholarships: These scholarships are given both in the first and second year, awarded to a maximum of 25 percent of students (of the non-sponsored student body) each year. Each scholarship is worth Rs. 2,200 per annum.

Aditya Birla Group Scholarships: Selection for eligible candidates for these scholarships (about three each to PGP I and II) is entirely done by the ABG and is based on merit. The scholarship amount is about Rs.1.25 lakh per student p.a.

OP Jindal Engineering and Management Scholars: These scholarships (one each to PGP I and PGP II) are awarded by OP Jindal Group to candidates with strong academic background. The final selection is done through an on-line test and a personal interview.

Ocwen Scholarship for Competence in Academics: The scholarship is instituted by Ocwen Financial Solutions Pvt. Ltd. It is given to one first year student. The final selection is done through a research paper and PI.

ONGC SC/ST Merit-cum-Means Scholarships: These scholarships are awarded to selected SC/ST candidates yearly.

Other Scholarships: Awarded by various State governments to students from those states.

Source: www.iimahd.ernet.in/users

The institute offers 30 percent scholarship to students who secured First Division throughout their career.

And 30 percent scholarship to international-level sports persons.

Merit-based scholarships from Sir Ratan Tata: Five scholarships that cover a part of the fees during the second year, subject to a ceiling of Rs. 50,000 per year to 2nd year students on a year-to-year basis.

This year, the ISB will award scholarships of either INR 500,000 or INR 1,000,000 to 110 deserving candidates.

ISB awards both need and merit based scholarships, every year, in the form of fee remission, to outstanding candidates. They scholarships vary in amounts and include some full scholarships.

The ISB also partners with several corporates to provide scholarships during the course of the academic year. Citibank, HSBC and Novartis Group offer scholarships up to INR 600,000.

Below is a summary of the company and external scholarships that are available to students.

The institute awards scholarships based on a student's performance in CAT/MAT/XAT and in the selection process comprising group discussions and personal interview for first year.

In the second year, scholarships would be available to the first three rank holders.

The institute awards scholarships based on the candidate's performance in sports, cultural, co-curricular and national bravery awards.

Financial aid is also granted on the basis of LPU-TFA (LPU-Test for Financial Aid).

Several scholarships are awarded based on the candidate's performance in entrance test. The details are as follows:

The institute awards need-based scholarship to the students of Social Entrepreneurship Programmes.

Need-based scholarships are offered by Shroff Family Charitable Trust.

The institute awards over 400 scholarships every year to meritorious and deserving students.

The institute offers merit-based scholarships for MBA admissions.

A candidate is eligible to apply for any one of the following scholarship:

The institute offers a scholarship of Rs 1 lakh to three students in the first year and three in the second year.

Candidates joining PGDM after securing 99 percentile or above in CAT would be eligible for special scholarships. Industry-sponsored scholarships are also available.

A few scholarships, which cover part of the tuition fee, awarded on the basis of merit are available for self-sponsored candidates in the eGPX programme.

Welingkar rewards the topper in selection process with a 100 percent tuition waiver.

The second ranker receives a free laptop. The third ranker has foreign internship sponsored.