<p>Just wanted to mention that even when you play by all the financial aid rules, ultimately most colleges can decide to give you what they feel like, in spite of your FAFSA and Profile applications.</p>
<p>I receive interest on a mortgage, claim it on my taxes, and put it down on my FAFSA and Profile statements. I called the FAFSA and CSS folks and asked how to address this, and was told twice by both that the interest is income, but since the title to the property is in the buyer’s name, the asset value is $0(makes sense.) However, two of my son’s colleges ignored this and assessed me with about $300K in assets, which resulted in him being denied any need based aid despite an EFC of $17K.</p>