Incoming dental student - hopeful investor

[Ethan Brown]

A little information about me, I am a incoming dental student and looking to start investing in real estate. I have been out of school for a couple years and have built a decent sum of funds to contribute to this unless I end up deciding to hold off. I have put down a deposit for Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. I had a late interview with Minnesota which is located in Minneapolis. Unless granted acceptance to MN, I will attend Creighton. 
I am interested in getting started by doing the standard house hacking technique. I know you have to learn the market, crunch the numbers, and find a property that will work. Was just wondering if others have had experience with investing in real estate while in grad school? Is it smart? I like the idea of house hacking because it has the potential to decrease my living expenses while learning the fundamentals of this type of investing. I do have family members in the real estate business so I have mentors in that way and they may potentially go in on this with me. I don’t want to 100% jump into real estate and focus on that  hence why I am pursuing dentistry, but I do like the idea of eventually having a few properties to have that additional income and contribute to to retirement.

Maybe I’m crazy but any insight would be greatly appreciated!