My daughter received the excelsior scholarship. it isnt on her 1098t. do i add this amount in scholarships for my taxes??? it wasnt a free ride she still had money due.

Yes, if she had additional scholarships that were not reported on the Form 1098-T you would include them.

There is a separate entry for scholarships in the education section where you can enter the amount not on the 1098.

i called the financial aid office and the excelsior amounts wont be added till the 2018 1098t's come out. so it'll be 2017 & 2018 combined. should i add half the scholarship amount this year and the other half on next years?

If half of it was used to pay 2017 expenses, then yes, include it on the 2017 return.