If you think you can manage a mortgage, taxes, insurance and the upkeep of a home while paying your student loans then buying is not  bad idea but if you think you will overstretch yourself renting is nto bad either.

You will probably want to pay attention to the income tax basis to any proposed transactions as well as be wary of any transfers that cause a property tax reassessment, depending on whether that amounts to a big increase in taxes or not.Feel free to reach out if you would like referrals in San Diego County in order to work remotely.

Sometimes it's better to pay a bit more, for a real professional to handle your most important transaction. 

The reason I say this is that with a 5+ unit a lender will evaluate based on NOI and a cap rate, so adding a 5th unit COULD (or could not) substantially increase the value of the building and make it worthwhile to refinance and pay off the existing loan (that is tied to the "old" quad) anyway.

However, with the rates and conditions of any triplexes and fourplexes we could find (we did find one, but it's in the Pendleton Heights suburb of KCMO, so we were worried about it being too dangerous of an area), we were wondering if it's worth it to buy a duplex and rent out the other half to help pay the mortgage, or if it's more worthwhile to rent an apartment and try to save up to buy a residential or commercial MFH later?

Your income isn't high enough for it to make sense as a rental and the closer you get to your residence limit the greater pressure you will have to sell it before losing your exclusion in whole or part. 500k right now can make $15k per year income with zero maintenance or tenant risks. 

For small MFH/SFH you have to find the deal, inspect, estimates and decide what to do, make a deal, get financing, get contractors, manage contractors, pay contractors, then turn it over to a property manager.

Employment Incentives: Hiring tribal members can qualify you for the Indian Employment Credit of up to $4,000 per employee.5.

You get what you pay for with a bigger firm that is cheaper.

The few lenders that offer no seasoning, they typically make you pay for it in high rates / fees.