I talked to a mortgage lender and they said my company needs 2 full years of consistent income for me to qualify for a loan.

Zillow is consistently overpricing real estate. 

Like Doug said, John, the prices are consistently increasing, properties bought off-market, and are instantly sold if on-market.

If you start with a lender who is consistantly working the single family primary residence market and has not grown a portoflio then you are bound to get the wrong advice.   

You mentioned Thornton and Broomfield but I'd stay in Boulder County if you can: safer appreciation play and closer to school so you can keep quality roommates and enjoy your time at school/commute less. 1% rule isn't a metric that should be a major factor in your situation in my opinion seeing as you need a place to live while you're here anyway, so you're talking about offsetting your living costs and taking advantage of a market with consistent significant appreciation. 1% rule is generally applied to pure investment properties, while you're talking about a house-hack.

From there, it will be consistent updates (and pictures!)

That goal and the business model of turnkey don't match.If you want a solid deal with almost no headache and consistent returns, turnkey with the right partner is great

(knowing that hiring a good property manager and cash-flowing consistently is more efficient at the larger level deals)Do you recommend investing in self education and increasing earnings until I can finance/join a larger deal?

I might want to use the cash as hard money, but most want to park the cash somewhere "safe" and generate  consistent returns. 

There are some spotted throughout the rest of Colorado Springs as well, but those two are the most consistent.