That is correct, she cannot claim herself, because you CAN claim her. Whether you actually do or not, she y still can't claim herself. But with the elimination of the personal exemption and the higher standard deduction ($12K single) , that's not as important as it used to be.
But there is a special rule that allows you to forgo her dependency so that she can claim the non-refundable tuition credit (she is not allowed the [up to] $1000 refundable credit). See a similar question at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4531097-just-because-i-can-claim-a-college-son-daughter-do-i-need-...>
Furthermore, there is a tax “loophole” available. The student reports all his scholarship, up to the amount needed to claim the American opportunity credit, as income on his return. That way, the parents (or himself, if he is not a dependent) can claim the tuition credit on their return. They can do this because that much tuition was no longer paid by "tax free" scholarship. You cannot do this if the school’s billing statement specifically shows the scholarships being applied to tuition or if the conditions of the grant are that it be used to pay for qualified expenses.
Using an example: Student has $10,000 in box 5 of the 1098-T and $8000 in box 1. At first glance he/she has $2000 of taxable income and nobody can claim the American opportunity credit. But if she reports $6000 as income on her return, the parents can claim $4000 of qualified expenses on their return.
