My fist suggestion is for you to join your local rental owners association and take all LL classes they offer.

You guys are all in this boat together, you shouldn’t expect special treatment for your money. 

@Antonio Daniels 1-there are no different standards for screening...what you will find is that they will likely not meet your earning requirements (like 3x rent)...so you have to make exceptions...they also have very colorful backgrounds for the most part...after screening hundreds of section 8 tenants, definite patterns will appear...if you have a credit score requirement, odds are they will not meet there either (but there are fantastic voucher tenants out there as well...I've rented to nurses and other professionals with a voucher do to having a disabled child that needs a lot of services)...the one thing to be aware of is not treating them differently because they have voucher...2-The inspection depends on local authority, but the standards are the same...this is a federal program...so Housing Quality Standards (HQS) is the guiding document...how an inspector interprets that is another story...https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfil...3-Usually you will only have recertification annually, or possibly at an income change or a request or complaint...4-100%, it's one of the best sources of long-term steady income out there...I'll take a section 8 tenant over a white collar A-class tenant any day...plus you are helping to house the most vulnerable and underserved population out there.The bad things you hear about section 8 are from folks that do not understand the system and how it works, or want to be slumlords and not take care of their properties...or are ill prepared to deal with people in general.

To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”

Preferably B to C+ class properties depending on the city.

Throwing $15k at this would leave me with roughly $5k (plenty to live on until graduation) and I fortunately am a part of an upper-middle class family that would definitely help me with co-signing/personal loans if need be.So that is the basis of the situation.

(In person classes) I'm sure there are more ways to connect with other likeminded individuals. 

If you lack the confidence for a major rehab (and believe me, conversion to a duplex will come with it's own stack of paperwork to do it legally)...if you lack the confidence then find someone to partner with.In exchange for some of the profit, you'll get a first class education as well as getting paid.

As I understand it, Tenant Improvement budgets make sense in A and B Class buildings/neighborhoods where the price and length of the lease should provide a reasonable ROI/breakeven for the landlord.

There’s a reason for the saying, “The two happiest days in a boat owner’s life: the day they buy the boat, and the day they sell the boat”.