If you can be claimed as a dependent under the rules, you must check the box even if the person who could claim you doesn’t want to claim you.
The only tax item that is affected by the second question “will this person actually claim you” is the American opportunity tax credit for college expenses. In some cases, if your parent could claim you as a dependent but does not, you might be eligible for a portion of that credit. This situation mainly occurs if your parent makes too much money to qualify to include the credit on their tax return.
