Something I just recalled, and I don't know if it makes any difference for you since your AGI is over 180K. But it will make a difference for the student.
If you do *not* claim the student as your dependent, the dependent still has to select the option for "I can be claimed on someone else's tax return". But for the AOC (since the student has earned income) the student's program will ask them two question:
1) Do you qualify to be claimed on someone else's tax return? There answer to this question will be YES.
2) Are you being claimed on someone else's tax return? If you do not claim the student as your dependent, then when they answer this question NO, the student will be allowed to take the amount of the AOC which they will qualify for, based on the student's earned income. At a minimum, the student will get "up to" $1000 of the refundable portion of the credit.
