If you left income off of your 2018 return or made some other error, you can prepare and mail an amended return called a Form 1040X. But if you are a student and you are being claimed as a dependent on someone else's (parents?) return, you cannot get the education credits--your parents get the education credit on their tax return.
Perhaps your friend who got a bigger refund also had more tax withheld from his paychecks. You would have to compare your Form 1040's side by side to see where the differences are.
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