Claiming AOTC does not require you to be claimed by your parents and that is true whether they can claim you and not.
AOTC has two components - the non-refundable portion and the refundable portion.
On the non-refundable portion, the maximum credit is $1500. Unfortunately, if your income is less than the standard deduction ($13,850), there would be no tax credit. The credit can lower what is on Line 22 by up to $1500, and it does depend on your Qualified Educational Expenses exceeding your scholarships by at least $4000.
On the refundable portion, if all ALL THREE items below are true, you are not eligible for the refundable portion:
1) At least one parent is alive
2) you filing status is other than Married Filing Joint
3) you are under 24 and your earned income is less than 50% of your support costs.
if you are eligible for the refundable portion it is worth up to $1000 and again depends on your QEE exceeding your scholarships by at least $4000.
