Reporting financial aid on child's return to maximize college credit

Hi,

My daughter receives financial aid for school (Pell grant and Excelsior Scholarship) which only leaves around $1K of tuition expense after netting the financial aid with the tuition paid on the 1098-T.

I read that I can report the financial aid she received on her own return as income (she has no other income) and just report the gross tuition expense amount on my return so the college credit I get is higher.

can anyone let me know if this is correct? She usually has the aid on her college account and we pay the difference. I tried to google what expenses the aid is limited to and they all say they are provided to pay for tuition, so not sure if I can make it look like it was used towards unqualified tuition expenses like transportation or books.

Thanks!

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