This zone, while still somewhat sketchy, enjoys some relative quiet and safety as a result, and is more attractive to the university students compared to buildings outside of the zone.

There are a few types of tenants (short term rentals, contract workers, students, etc) that will prefer a furnished rental.

I am currently a full time student on an athletic full ride scholarship.

If you're willing and able to deal with college students, anywhere near the UT campus is going to be a great place to live and offer rental opportunities.Otherwise, I'd recommend looking in the Anderson Mill or NW region of Austin.

Other recommendations for a college student to get started with 10k saved up

I was hoping that since it's close enough to APSU I could find some students to rent the other side too but I just realized the APSU semester is starting real soon and I imagine 99.9% of students have already found housing.

I am interested in student housing and short term rentals.

Maybe you live in a touristy town where AirBnB is highly profitable, maybe there is a high demand for student housing, maybe the local hospital needs furnished apartments for their traveling doctors etc. 

Students, nurses, others?

The military institution I was in provided the opportunity for students to take out a loan from its associated bank, Navy Federal.