Whoever claims the student as a dependent on their tax return (student or someone else) is the one who can claim the qualified education expenses paid out of pocket or with loans for credit or deduction. It doesn't matter who actually paid the expenses. Whoever claims the student as a dependent is allowed to use the expenses paid on the students behalf to claim the credit. If the students meets the tests to be claimed as a dependent by someone else, the student can't claim themself.
If the student received scholarship or grant awards that paid for non qualified education expenses such as room and board, the student must enter that income on the students tax return.
