@JessicaAnn92 said "I think what’s confusing me is the 4 year rule".
You meet the 4 year rule. That is, you are not considered as having completed 4 years of post secondary education.
But there is a 2nd "4 year rule" You may not claim the American opportunity credit (AOC or AOTC) and/or it's predecessor, The Hope Credit, more than 4 times in your college career. Any AOC or Hope claimed by your parents, while you were their dependent, count against your 4 times. You must have been half time or more to claim either of those credits. The AOC dates back to 2009.
Q. Am I ok if I claim the American opportunity credit this year?
A. You should make an effort to review your tax files. Ask your parents if they claimed it. If you don't remember claiming it, your probably didn't. But, as the other reply said, there is some risk of getting red flagged by the IRS, even to the point (unlikely) of tagged for a fraudulent return.
You can only get a tax transcript going back three tax years. If you need something older than that, you'll have to order a copy of your actual filed tax return. You can get one for the current tax year and as far back as six years. https://mileiq.com/blog-en-us/get-copy-tax-return-transcript
