Make sure you are doing thorough background and credit checks & always counsult with legal counsel to ensure you have the utmost in protection measures within the agreement before moving forward.   

If the last comp was for $165,000, I'd be aiming way lower than $160,000.

Once you tsrat going back further in time you find people who have bought their home in a market with lower price points than today - they are emotionally more open to accepting your offer.While you are on your quest to the perfect list keep this in mind:"Ready, aim, FIRE" works better in most combat situations than "Ready, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim,..."

Have your measurements handy and you can see if something will work. 

and,.......you have a house that has a potential ARV just over $100k (you're only aiming for the first $99k...leaving a whopping 2.9% on the table), at a cost of $55k, and to make the deal happen, it needs everything from the above list of things your client doesn't have?  

It just all depends on what you are aiming for.

What other things can I do to gain a competitive edge if I aim to rent to college students?

If you are financing, then cap rate is fine as a measure of comparison among your potential deals, but doesn't tell you much about the reality of the cash-flow once you own. 

What is not clear; are the measurements in feet or inches? 

If this meets our criteria we will pull the trigger.If you are looking at it as a rental, be sure to crunch all your numbers to make sure it will cash flow.I know this sounds obvious but putting together spread sheets on all aspects will keep you from a ready fire aim situation.