Scholarships are usually one of the first things people think of when it comes to college financing. After all, free money is always good. But it’s a bit more complicated than you might expect to find the free money.

Let’s say you have a student in the family who is an ideal candidate for the scholarships that are typically won by students in Monroe County, Mich. Her resume includes good grades, community service, leadership credentials … and she’s well on her way to earning a Girl Scout Gold Award.

Question: When do you, as this student’s mom, start looking for scholarships to cut the college tuition bill and related expenses?

Answer: During spring of her junior year in high school.

Even though my 11th grade daughter could not apply for scholarship programs that were posted at her high school counselor’s office and in The Monroe Evening News print and e-editions, we used her junior year to build up a list of leads for awards that she could apply for when senior year began.

If you need an explanation of what to expect from a scholarship search, go to one of my previous posts “Where are all those unclaimed scholarships?”

The busiest season for Monroe County students on the merit-based scholarship awards is January through March of their senior year in high school, with award decisions typically made in April or May. In fact, I was surprised to see a notice sent to The Monroe Evening News this week for the Michigan Education Association scholarship for future teachers. Summer is the “off season” for scholarship programs, both on the national and local level.

So while it is too late to be hunting down scholarships to cut the 2009-09 bill, now is the time to start planning for scholarships that will help you for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Plans for your need-based aid also should be thought out a year or two in advance, according to a Grand Rapids consulting firm that specializes in college financial aid.

But first, let’s pick up another headline of the week.

This is the third post in a series. For more information on this topic, follow my College financing 08-09 thread and also check out my college financing sidebar.