You are too late to get any sort of refund for a tax year earlier than 2018. If you file a 2018 return by April 15, 2022 you might still be able to claim the credit IF you were eligible for 2018. Were you anyone else's dependent for that tax year? If someone else could claim you as a dependent you cannot get an education credit. And....you say you did not have a "filing requirement..."-----did you earn any income during 2018?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3262983-who-is-eligible-to-take-the-american-opportunity-tax-credi...
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