You are confusing your tuition payment/refund with an income tax refund--they are not the same thing. If you are not someone else's dependent then you can enter your 1098T on your tax return to see if you can get education credits. If you are being claimed as someone else's dependent then that person gets the education credit.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901172-what-are-education-tax-credits
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901172-what-education-tax-credits-are-available
https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-eligible-to-claim-an-education-credit
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3383321-why-didn-t-i-get-a-credit-or-deduction-for-education-expen...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3262983-who-is-eligible-to-take-the-american-opportunity-tax-credi...
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