However, the seller offered seller financing that is clearly beneficial to me (without the stereotypical benefits of owner financing to the seller).

I'm a real estate agent in Denver Colorado looking to network with local lenders and build mutually beneficial professional relationships.  

As a property administrator myself I would say that perhaps in your position it would be beneficial to find a property management company that would be interested in doing a la carte services.

I am currently living in an apartment while in school, and I was wondering if you guys would recommend house hacking as a good way to get started in real estate investing or if starting off with something easier would be more beneficial after I graduate.

I rather put my money in a mutual fund or REIT if I'm only going to get 8-9% on a CVS.

I've even seen deals where it was even beneficial to pay MORE than the asking price.

This will be incredibly beneficial to you as you start searching for your own property. 

For plan #1, you may consider putting some of it in mutual funds (since you will be leaving it alone for over 5 years, you may see a good growth) and some of it you could make available to real estate investors as a private lender.

At any time a mutual lease termination, lease buyout,  or non-renewal is usually done first to avoid court costs and fee's between management and tenants. 

However, starting out with an analysis problem with a house/investment in which there are guardrails of sorts (meaning the assumptions are made for you) could still be beneficial to someone just trying to get the analysis down.