Tag for later when I got more coffee in me.
ETA, ok here we go. Note, I've been in the property management profession for 27 years which means you won't listen to a word I say but I'm going to try anyway. Most of my experience is in conventional multi-family properties though I have had some experience with the student housing sub-market.
Student Housing: Where they rent "by the bed" and cater specifically to the college students. You have two types of these communities; purpose built and a conventional property that has been converted to student housing. Stay away from the later as they were not designed for "by the bed" renting. The floor plan layouts and not very conducive to this but most importantly, the parking lots were not designed for every bed to have a car in the parking lot. There are a lot of pros and cons to student housing and if you chose this rout let me know and I'll get into more detail with you.
Conventional apartments: Just what it sounds like, a standard apartment community.
What to look for when choosing an apartment?
-Is it run by a professional property management company? Most people don't think of this and just look at the name of the community. Find out who the property management company is. How long have they been in business, how many units do they manage, is there a local regional property manager, what kind of lease do they use (some use their own, the more reputable use an apartment association lease which in Minnesota is the Minnesota Multi Housing Association), does the on site manager have any industry designations? (Accredited Residential Manager or ARM from IREM, or Certified Apartment Manager from the NAA)
-say you find a community you like. Reasonable rents, friendly staff, etc, what to look for before you decide to spend your coin? Look online for reviews, apartment ratings.com, yelp, satisfacts, etc. How many cars are in the parking lot during the day? [unless it is close to the school and full of students who walk to campus a full parking lot is a sign that it is full of deadbeats and FSA types who aren't working]. What kind of cars are there? People are what they drive. Additionally, cars with flat tires, expired registration stickers, or in obvious disrepair means the onsite staff doesn't give a shit. Drive the community around 7-8 PM and again around 2 PM (or whenever the bars close in your area).
-When touring the property with the on site staff; are they friendly? do they ask you a lot of questions about your needs wants and desires? do they take an individual interest in you and your wants? Ask them, "Is this a safe place to live"? If they give you a canned response or some kind of non-answer, ask them if there is a website that you can look up crime statistics for the area. If they say yes, this is a safe place or some other kind of affirmative answer, run away as they are fucking stupid.
Have an understanding of MN Tenant / Landlord law for your and your landlord's rights and responsibilities
MN Tenant Landlord Law
And that's all you get with one cup of coffee in me. If you have any specific questions, let me know or shoot me an IM.
Oh, and I would typically stay away from single family housing. i.e. rental houses that's a hit or miss market with very little to go by to see if you have a good owner / manager or some slum lord.