How old will your puppy be when you get him? 8 weeks? And when you go back to school, is there anyone who can be employed to let your puppy out at an appropriate interval during the day to potty and play for a bit? And, of course, on the days you're going to work too, can you come home between school and work? This all makes quite a difference to the best way to potty train your pup.
When you're potty training, especially if you're using a crate, the one thing you need to keep in mind at all times is that there is a limit to how long a puppy is capable of holding it's bladder. And it isn't very long really, with a baby. The general rule of thumb for how long a pup can hold on during the day, in hours, is his age in months + 1 to a maximum of 8 hours (that being the adult maximum too). So you should avoid asking your puppy/dog to try to hold on any longer than that.
You also need to keep in mind that we're talking about the limit of physical endurance here - the point beyond which a puppy is going to
have to empty it's bladder wherever it may be. So that actually means that the pup felt the
need to urinate well before then, and may be holding on uncomfortably for some time before he can't hold on any longer. Which is just something to keep in mind, and if you don't
need to ask your puppy to hold on as long as physically possible every day, then don't. It will be much more pleasant for him to be able to urinate when he feels he needs to, not to hold on as long as he possibly can all the time.
So. With all that out of the way, we come to crate training. The reason that the crate is such an effective housetraining tool is because it provides a powerful incentive for a puppy to hold on as long as he possibly can. As mentioned above, your 8 week old puppy will be physically capable of holding his bladder for around 3 hours (varies a little from pup to pup, but that's about average). But he will feel the need to urinate about an hour after his last potty stop. If he is in a crate, where he has no choice but to sit in it if he urinates, then he will try to hold on - up until the point that he becomes so uncomfortable that sitting in it is preferable to holding on any longer. In short, he will probably manage about 3 hours.
If he is not in a crate, but loose in a larger area, then he will urinate when his bladder is full. Obviously. He's not going to hold on and be uncomfortable for no reason. So the point at which he potties will probably be around an hour after he last emptied his bladder.
So what that all means is that as long as you are able to return and let him out to potty at a time within the limit of his endurance (might be four hours by the time you go back to school - if he's 8 weeks when you get him, he'll be nearly 3 months old when you go to school), or else get someone else to let him out at an appropriate interval, then the crate is an appropriate tool for you. If that is *not* possible, then it would be better that you leave him in a larger pen with some newspaper to urinate on. There is nothing to be gained by teaching a puppy to urinate in his crate - which is the effect of leaving him in there beyond his endurance level.
So hopefully that answers the question of whether or not crate training is appropriate for your puppy. If you are able to provide adequate potty opportunities for him during the day, or get someone else to do so - then the crate is the way to go - it is the fastest way to potty train. If you
can't give him the potty opportunities he needs, then you need to leave him out of his crate with something absorbant to potty on instead.
Now, how do puppies learn about housetraining? Actually, it's not that easy for them. Unlike cats, dogs don't come with any inbuilt notion that pottying should take place outdoors or in any particular place other than right where they're standing. And up until he comes home with you, that is exactly what your pup will have been doing - pottying right where he is at the time he felt the need, with his mother and breeder to clean it up. So you're really starting from zero in trying to persuade him that that's not the way things should be done.
It's also important to realise that your puppy will not fully understand housetraining until he's somewhere around 6 months old, or even longer. You can be accident-free long before then, but you need to realise that that is entirely dependant on
you. The dog won't really get it. So the first key to successful potty training, and avoidance of accidents, is to always provide the potty opportunities that your pup needs. If you're there at the right time and take him outdoors, then he'll potty there. If you're not there when he needs to go, then he'll still go. So the second key is extreme vigilence (know where he is and what he's doing at all times) and awareness of your pup's needs. That is precisely why the crate is so handy. Nobody can watch their pup every minute of every day - and that's exactly when the accidents occur, when nobody was watching. So when you can't be watching, your puppy goes into his crate - where he'll try to hold his bladder, and will complain when he needs to potty but is stuck in the crate.
With all those things firmly in mind, your puppy will learn gradually. It is important to take him out at least hourly in the beginning stages, PLUS after playing (exercise stimulates the bowels), a few minutes after eating/drinking, and immediately after he wakes from a nap. Those are the times that you *know* he's going to have to at least urinate. And if you take him out and he doesn't go - don't take your eyes off him once you get back indoors, because you can just about guarantee that he really does need to go, and will attempt to do so inside within a few minutes LOL
PRAISE your puppy lavishly (treats too, if he's a foodie) after every single successful potty outdoors. You must always go with him, to make sure that he does indeed go, and so that you're there to praise. I can't overstate the importance of that. Praise is the
only thing that is going to tell him that pottying outdoors was a good thing.
Simultaneously, you're eliminating the opportunities for him to get it wrong by keeping a very close eye on him indoors. And when you just can't watch him, he goes in his crate.
If he has an accident indoors, and you don't see him do it, then there's nothing to do but clean it up. No point in scolding him - he won't understand, and it was your fault for not watching and taking him out at the appropriate moment. You should ignore him while you're cleaning it up though - no point in giving him the idea that you enjoy that LOL
If you *do* catch him in the act, then the appropriate response is to shout out something like "no no no", clap your hands loudly etc - with the intent of startling (not scaring) him into stopping mid-flow. You then race him outdoors to finish, and praise him extensively when he does. What this tells him is that pottying was "bad" - but it's not always "bad" because usually you're so pleased with him when he does that... and you also praised him when he finished outdoors... so maybe the issue is
location 
He won't realise that immediately (as said previously, the concern with location is a human thing, not a canine one), but over time it will start to filter into his head - pottying should be done outside only, and then it is a good thing.
If crate training isn't an option for you initially, because you can't come home and give him enough potty stops, then a pen with newspaper is the next best alternative. You could use turf if you like, but I doubt it will make much difference to newspaper - the point really is just some absorbant surface that he'll choose to potty on. It will slow down his training a little, because some of the time he is pottying indoors without it being a problem. But as he gets older, his bladder will get bigger and he'll be able to hold on longer. When he reaches the stage that he can be asked to hold on for as long as you need to be away, then you can start to use the crate while you're at school. And you can have been using it at night, and during times you're home but can't watch him from the outset.
Whew. Hopefully that makes things a bit clearer. There is no way in the world he's going to be potty trained in the 2-3 weeks before you go to school - it will be more like 3-4 months. But you can avoid him having accidents by the use of the crate, if that's appropriate. And if it's not, then you just need to accept that he'll be pottying indoors until such time as he gets big enough to be crated and hold his bladder while you're gone. For all other times (when you're home) it is a matter of constant vigilence, knowing and providing for your dog's needs, and praising him madly when he does the right thing. He won't understand immediately, but in time he will get it
