<p>My understanding is that FAFSA does not include such things as gold/silver/antique furniture/vehicles/jewelry/oriental rugs/collectibles and such as assets (I am not sure about Profile – I believe they do ask about vehicles, not sure about gold/silver).</p>
<p>The problem you might have is in the conversion – I think that if you cash out stocks/bonds to buy gold, it will show as income for that year and your EFC will be effected.</p>
<p>The absolute best way to utilize any assets to decrease their effect on EFC is to pay off any debts. There is no allowance for debt (with the exception of mortgage and student loans) so you want to use your assets to pay off cars, credit card debt, etc.</p>
<p>as you probably know, funds placed in an official retirement account are not considered available to pay for college and do not impact the EFC</p>