<p>Middkid, it is taken into consideration, as said, in that home equity, which most PROFILE schools take into account as assets, is offset by loans against it. The same goes for any REPORTABLE asset. You have a brokerage or savings account with a lien on it or a loan against it specifically, then it’s current market value is so reflected. You have a vacation home but it’s mortgaged to the hilt then it’s value is so diminished. The market value of anything used as an asset is reduced by loans used specifically on it But general debt, like credit card debt, nope. Sometimes, as a professional judgement, assets equal to unreimbursed medical bills can be given a pass. Like if you had a horrible year with medical bills raining down on you and finally this year you are looking at them, all say, $30K of them, and you had $30K in money, assets in account that you reported on the fin aid forms, you can request that they be offset, especially if you can show that those bills were not covered by insurance and that you are truly using those assets to pay them off. Heck, take a check ledger, write the amounts all in to show where they are going. A lot of schools might make such a one time professional judgement but that is not guaranteed at all. Against income,even more difficult to get such a consideration. But it is possible.</p>