"House hacking" will allow me to pay down my VA home loan so I can refi and use the benefits again.

If you are going to work with them in their time of need then both parties need to benefit and win together on the upside.How much you work with a tenant depends on location.

If it were one of my rental units, I'd mainly be worried about the acoustic "popcorn" ceiling texture. 

Fall/winter and the main holiday season are rough.

I mean, is there some kind of investing or buying/selling process that civilians can do or benefit from that an agent couldn't?

I don't recommend people to start from NYC as the prices are too high over here that's the main reason I don't invest here but 1 and half hour away drive from NYC.

Just trying to weight the long term benefits vs. short term.

I am happy to rent to tenants who are not students; it's just that students are the main responses that I get, and tend to contact me and sign leases before the apartments are posted as available.  

North of town near the main highways is pretty good too. 

My main goal right now is to absorb as much information as I can while I'm still in school so that post-graduation I will be in a solid position to begin investing.