If the student is under 19, you will not get the student status question, in the personal info interview. At that point, it's only used to determine if the child can be a dependent. Since he is under 19, his student status is not relevant, for the dependency test.*
You'll get a chance later, in educational expenses section, to identify the child as a student.
*There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
- He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
- He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
- He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year
