Real estate is the next field I would like to broaden my horizons in and through a few internet searches came by this site fairly quickly.

You are young and time is in your favor, so do not be hasty; Park the money in a good CD while you broaden your horizons with more education on each of the above.To develop a meaningful plan of approach:create a list of step in the path of each approach to REI shown. 

Im always looking to broaden my knowledge and network with new people.

I am a life long entrepreneur and I am looking to broaden my reach into more traditional markets!

I have come to the conclusion that I needed to broaden the scope of properties that I was looking at.  

If it has a narrow purpose, like only buying residential properties, you should consult an attorney about whether you should have that broadened and consult a CPA to make sure their aren't any adverse tax ramifications of having that broadened.

I'm looking to broaden my real estate library with something on lease options.

They are in different areas of town which is to your advantage as they broaden the area in which you could easily find students to live in your condo/building etc.

So far that's worked quite well (and I don't plan to stop), but I feel limited in terms of the markets I can invest in with those people.I now want to broaden my search into different markets, but when looking at the entire country, I get a bit overwhelmed (and end up making no decision at all because I have way too many options).This is a relationship business, and I'm confident enough in my networking and relationship building abilities wherever I go, but I'm stuck in terms of the geographic regions to focus on.How do you choose your out of state areas to invest in?

Thanks @Steven Butala, looking forward to broadening my education in real estate.