Help Choosing First Dog

EXACTLY what I was going to suggest.  A retired greyhound.

I'd stay away from terriers, I'd stay away from any herding dog (like a gsd) any retrievers, like a lab that tends to stay puppyish for EVER.......

If I even SAY "mom has to go....." all 6 of mine head to their crates.  If I'm going to be gone to run errands, do grocery shopping, they'll get ice cubes, if its for a longer time they get a stuffed frozen kong.  I don't want to start another crate debate, but the BIGGIE with me, is their safety in case of a fire.  My dogs aren't gonna react well to ANYONE breaking into their home, forget firefighters in their strange garb.  In crates, they can be pulled to safety with no danger to them or the firefighters.

I vote for going to a shelter.  A lab mix would be a great dog, or any medium sized mix really.  I think any dog can adapt to apartment living as long as you're committed to getting it plenty of exercise and one on one time. 
 
I'd use a crate too. 

Another one for a retired greyhound.  All the ones I've met are super laid back couch potatos.  But I'm sure they active enough to take them on long walks, etc.  

One thing you might think about- you said dog needs to be alone for 5 hours right now while your in school, how will that change when your out of school and have a full time job ?
Knowing several beagles I most def. would not recommend them or a vizsla for an apartment, but a retired greyhound would be perfect, my parents and a couple of their friends have adopted several. They are pure couch potatoes , but also like to run in the park like you want. Theirs are alone all day while they both work. The only thing I must warn you about- it seems impossible to get just one ! They all have three apiece now.[]

If you have patience, I'd recommend rescue route.http://www.petfinder.com/ is a good place to start. I say patience b/c 1) rescues are picky to begin w/ 2) they're pickier w/ college students (I know, I am one.) I spent almost a year trying to look for *the* right dog and after meeting 10+ dogs, I did! He's about perfect. I wanted to go to the rescue rather than a shelter b/c I wasn't confident in my ability to tell what dogs would be good for me. Rescue you know better b/c they usually have dogs in foster care and foster parents can tell you a lot about dogs down to little things like their eating habits, etc.

Good luck! You'll find your dog soon.

Another "vote" for a retired racing greyhound.  From everything I've read/heard, they're real couch potatoes in the house.  I met someone at an obedience match once who lives in an apartment with 5 retired greyhounds. If I were in this situation, I would talk to some greyhound rescue groups. 
 
As for crating when alone, it depends on the dog.  Mick has had free range of the house since he proved himself trustworthy (at about 6 months old).  But I had to crate my  grand mother's Toy Poodle even if I was only going to the mailbox and back.

Congratulations for seeking advice!!! Before I adopted Romeo, I did a lot of research and narrowed down my selection to 4 breeds, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, Sheltie and Corgie.  I educated myself on each breed, temperament, health, you name it, went to dog shows, talked to breeders and vets examined carefully my lifestyle and although I am in love with Border Collies I decided it was just not for me and decided I a Corgi would be perfect.  However one day while surfing the net, I came across the website for CAP shelter ( I live in Houston) and saw the face of a dog that looked like a racoon, he was a border collie/corgi/sheltie mix he was six years old and male ( I had decided, I wanted a puppy, and female) but something in his face told me that was my dog, because it was at night, I went to the shelter the next day at soon as it opened, my heart was pounding I asked for Romeo and they told me a family was filling out the adoption papers for him, and asked if I wanted to look at another dog, I said yes, but all of a sudden I felt a paw scratching my leg and people were screaming loose dog, and when I looked down it was that little racoon face staring up at me, I sat on the floor to say hello, he jumped on my lap and would not get off, I rubbed him all over, touched him all over, opened his mouth, looked at his teeth and the staff was so surprised because he was wagging his tail (which he had not done since he was turned in) and he had let me opened up his mouth and touch his teeth w/o a fight.  Long story short, Romeo has been with me for two years now, and I don't regret my decision at all.  He fit in just perfectly from the get go, he has never had an accident in the house, he is not destructive at all, he is just perfect. I can leave anything on the floor and he is not interested.  He has a crate, which he goes into on and off (I took the door off, he is that good) mostly he sleeps while I am gone, but when I come home, and have had a chance to relax, I take him to the park and the border collie in him comes out, he is crazy about tennis balls, he is a lover boy, and stops traffic wherever he goes.  Sometimes when he is in his bed asleep I lay down next down next to him and can't believe how lucky I am.  I got the best of everthing, he has the border collie temperament, but without all that energy the corgi built and the sheltie sweet disposition.  So good luck on your search, if you leave your heart open you will find that perfect dog.

Thanks to everyone for the help! To answer a previous question, during the summer I am taking 1 class and working part time, so I won't be as busy as during the school year (which I take the max credits). Also, I'm going to med school after undergrad so I'll be in an apartment for a while (hence the apartment dog search). So to clear something up, shelters-you choose the dog, rescues-they choose the dog for you? (the right fit). Thanks!

I think that no matter what you choose to go with purebred or mixed, you have to be willing to put in the time,  if not a dog is not the right companion.  Before Romeo, I used to get up at 8 o'clock in the morning, after Romeo 5:30 am it is for me, we go walking for about an hour and a half, come home I get ready to go to school and he is one happy tired dog, that has full run and is only interested in sleeping or playing with his laser ball.  I also have someone who takes him out for a walk in the afternoons ( I am a med student) at nights is either off to the park or another walk, he also goes to doggie day care, so he is really tired those days. 

You've gotten some really good advice here, especially regarding going to a shelter and adopting a slightly older (not a real young pup) dog. BTW, I've never crated a dog either.  Max has been 100% totally reliable alone in the house since before he was a year old.  Before then, I just made sure that there wasn't anything he shouldn't have within reach. He goes in & out through his doggy door whenever he wants (his door leads to a fenced back yard) and I usually come home to find him aslseep on either our bed or his favorite sofa. One of his favorite pastimes is sitting on the floor in front of the window where he can lay his chin on the window sill and watch the world go by outside.

ORIGINAL: bSd

Thanks to everyone for the help! To answer a previous question, during the summer I am taking 1 class and working part time, so I won't be as busy as during the school year (which I take the max credits). Also, I'm going to med school after undergrad so I'll be in an apartment for a while (hence the apartment dog search). So to clear something up, shelters-you choose the dog, rescues-they choose the dog for you? (the right fit). Thanks!

Procedures aren't standardized, so the best idea would be to contact places that you might be interested in getting a dog from.  Each place might operate slightly differently.
Also, it would be a good idea to look on petfinder, and check the websites of some places you might be interested in adopting from. They often list their policies, and you can usually see their application for adoption. By knowing what the policies are, you can eliminate a rescue that isn't going to work with you due to their policies. For example, some rescues might require a fence, or that you have experience with their breed. Since you don't have those things, it wouldn't be worth your time to get your hopes up on a dog from such a place, but would be better to work with a facility whose qualifications you can meet.

So to clear something up, shelters-you choose the dog, rescues-they choose the dog for you? (the right fit). Thanks!

ORIGINAL: bSd

Is not so much that at the shelters you choose the dog, and resues choose for you, but at the shelters they have so many dogs, they don't really have the time to get to know each one individually.  Rescues, most of the dogs live with fosters who know them and they try to match the dog to you or match you to the dog.  Try going into some of the rescues website and read what their policies are, also a lot have pictures of the available dogs.  I did most of my search online, I could not stand going to the shelter walking past all the cages, looking at the dogs and not taking one with me.  They have already been rejected by a human, I felt like I was just rejecting them over again.  Good luck!!!

I think I might end up like Olinda (med student) because I'm pre-med right now (neurobiology) and will be going to med school in 2 years and I'm really active physically (with sports, etc) so I might end up waking up a bit earlier every day and wearing the dog out (or myself lol) before classes. But yeah, I'll definitely try for an older dog at a shelter/rescue. What would you all think is a good age? 3-5? Older?

I would say 2-5 or so.  And I would prefer a shelter to rescue just because many of them kill...

I'd definitely suggest a shelter.  If you want the dog now and are ready, rescues take a lot longer.  However, rescues also are more often in foster homes so you can ask more questions about temprament etc. and get answers.  I got Zoe, a dachshund (which for me was ok because I did have time to train, etc.) as my first dog ever too, from a shelter.  Many people had turned her down after finding out how stubborn they are... and it is true!
 
I am not all knowledgeable or anything, but what about a spaniel... cocker, english, etc.  I know people who had them in apartments and they liked to play, etc. and it wouldn't be too terrible grooming wise, etc.

As for greyhounds... they are constantly posting they need people to adopt them on my local craigslist but they are willing to transport.  If you want more info or decide to go that route, PM me for more info or look at the pets section of Baltimore's craigslist.