<p>To beat the dead horse a little more, remember that the Profile taxes parental assets, including home equity, at 12%. An asset protection allowance is provided, variable by parental age, but if the oldest parent is 50 the allowance is about $50,000. So $200,000 of the home equity of $250,000 was considered available to add to the Profile EFC. 12% of $200,000 was $24,000. So it seems USC actually cut you some slack somewhere. It is true that home equity is a blessing and a curse.</p>