Even people who aren't socially dumb have a hard time telling whether someone is interested in them outside of the current setting, especially the interest is a friendly person.

She's not really my "type" as far as those things go but I don't know if dating outside types is considered normal or ill-advised

Nothing wrong with branching out, but if you're only interested in her because of proximity and availability, while you simulateously aren't genuinely interested in her, then it is pretty unkind to lead her on. You basically feigning interest since she is an attainable target in the hopes that you may end up finding her attractive later? Not cool.

But if you are genuinely interested in her but she is just simply not the type you normally end up talking to (for whatever reason), then yeah, go for it.

concern is that if things don't work out or I get rejected I will still be forced to see her for the rest of the academic year and things might get awkward or I will be labeled as predatory or something.

Alright...this is where being socially dumb can be harmfull to you so you have to work extra to be respectful of her boundaries. Hypothetically, if she wished to reject you, she might not want to embarrass you (since she will have to keep on seeing you) so she may make up an excuse why she isn't available. If that happens, just take it graciously and see if she offers an alternative date. Then let it go. Move on. As long as you only ask one time and don't pressure her or treat her rudely after the rejection, there is no reason things will be awkward unless you make them awkward. Just go back to being casual and friendly. "Predators" are the creeps who will pester a girl and purposely make her feel guilty for not giving them a chance. Don't do that and you'll be fine.

If she keeps having one-on-one conversations when she isn't obligated to, then she may very well be interested. Good luck!