<p>[Federal</a> Student Aid - IFAP: iLibrary - EFC Formula Guide](<a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=efcformulaguide&awardyear=2010-2011]Federal”>http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=efcformulaguide&awardyear=2010-2011)</p>
<p>go to the above link, read the exact EFC formula for yourself adn run your numbers with your 2009 tax return info.</p>
<p>Then rerun it if you follow the suggestions and reallocate assets. Is your income too high for the allocation to matter? Are your assets already beneath the limits of FAFSA protection? Can you simply pay off a bit of your home loan principal with the excess asset values and be money ahead.</p>
<p>Very few families have both low enough income for FAFSA grant aid AND assets in excess of the protected amount (given that your home equity in your primary residence is protected) This is very different for CSS Profile schools.</p>
<p>The only way I can see you qualifying for aid is if your rentals qualify as a family business eligible to be excluded from FAFSA assets, but as I recall RE must include things such as maid/maintenance service to be eligible. If you have many apartments and provide services you may want to read up on this in order to determine if you do qualify for asset exclusion, but from what I have read few RE properties do.</p>
<p>Also, you hired a college positioning consultant, I would suggest that if you have time to spend on this board you will learn more and understand more about positioning than any consultant. I certainly did AFTER my first kid!</p>