Opus_17, what usually kills that "full time student" status, is that more than likely the student will have provided more than 50% of their own support for the entire tax year. It just depends on a "lot" of factors when military service is involved in the equation now-a-days. Education assistance provided by the military is considered assistance to the student. But if he's joining the military in 2019, I can guarantee you he won't be attending one single college class for at least the first twelve months, starting from the date he reports for basic training.
Now if he attended college as a full time student for the fall semester of 2019 prior to reporting for basic training that has the potential of qualifying him to be claimed as a dependent.
