Are you thinking of pursuing higher studies? Then you may probably be thinking of financial backing as well. You need not always depend on loans to go in for higher studies. Apart from educational loans, monetary aid is available to students as Scholarships and Endowments. Scholarships enable deserving students to pursue higher education in their sphere of study or go for specialization by providing them necessary monetary assistance as course fee and book grant without having to repay loans. Today scholarships and stipend are available to school students, college students, research fellows etc. The scholarships may be funded by Individual Trusts, Government Institutions, Institutions of Higher Learning like Universities, by Corporate Houses or by Missionaries and Charitable Trusts. The students have to fulfill the eligibility criteria as laid down by the respective organizations or institutions offering scholarships to be in receipt of these scholarships. The eligibility criteria set by institutions may be ones regarding the minimum and maximum age limit of applicants, the academic ability (scholarships are usually given to meritorious students who have performed exceptionally well in academics), exceptional interest in a particular field, research work carried out in that field etc. Scholarships are available in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Medicine, Law, Sports, Fine Arts and a number of other fields. While some of the scholarships enable students to pursue studies in India, International Scholarships enable students to pursue higher studies abroad. Some of these scholarships are quite prestigious and being a recipient of it gives adds weightage to one's resume.