Thanks for the really good info, AnnoyingDad.
We are very grateful that our daughter received awards that covered tuition/fees and also room and board her freshman year 2014-2015. We are filing taxes and filed FAFSA reporting that in 2014 she was our dependent, and she filed 1040 claiming income that covered room and board (extrapolated from 1098T).
We are hoping that she will qualify for the same awards as a sophomore and beyond. If so, we could no longer claim her as dependent since her awards cover her living expenses.
Do you know if her upcoming and future awards will be affected by her room/board income and her/our filing status?