No, it does not sound like it. First, a scholarship cannot be used when a person is figuring their own support. Next, if the student is at school, they are considered as still living at home unless there is no intent to move back home. Finally, the IRS says that if the student CAN be claimed by someone else, they cannot claim their own exemption.
If the student received a 1098-T, the parents. or the person claiming the student's exemption, reports the 1098-T and applies for an education credit.
Qualifying
Child
1. The child must be your son, daughter,
stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister,
stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at
the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly),
(b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and younger than you (or
your spouse if filing jointly), or (c) any age if permanently and totally
disabled.
3. The
child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. (away at school is living at home)
4. The child must not have provided more than
half of his or her own support for the year. (scholarships do not count)
5. The child must not be filing a joint
return for the year (unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund
of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).
If the student is your Qualifying Child, you claim the students exemption. The student can still file, in fact he may need to , but he needs to select that someone else can claim him.
