As it relates to lease end dates I've seen two things work here. 1) You can stagger end dates as mentioned above or 2) you can optimize for summer - this works better for us in areas where you see students or families with school age children moving to align with the summmer months.Separately, this is a great argument against month-to-month leases.  

My wife and I own a single-family home in a top school district.

Typically, higher income areas have lower crime, more amenities, better schools.  

It’s growing fast, has good schools, and offers affordable homes compared to Houston.

If you are using RE investing to try to avoid going to school, your intentions are not in the correct place.

And a lot of old school GCs may not have the ability to take a CC and may not care to learn how to...Main question is: why do you want to do this?

Starting now, even while juggling school and your internship, will give you a huge head start.

Not to mention the economic development steps the town is taking in ensuring the growth of town (roads, schools, zoning) stays on par with the future expected population growth and new jobs that are going to be a result of the new factories opening.  

- Should I go back to school and obtain an Associates degree in Real Estate? 

I’d recommend looking for a market that’s affordable and has good rental demand—local job growth or proximity to schools can be a sign of a solid investment.