Well, someone PMed asking for a timeline; I think I've actually mentioned this all previously, but here goes (my timeline might differ slightly form official).
May/June: -Do your AMCAS primary. Use your complete list of schools; do research beforehand, no use waiting till orientation to find out where to app. I would recommend all your state schools, other Jesuit schools like GT (i.e. creighton, slu, etc), midwestern/southern schools. Schools like Drexel, NYMC used to be friendly, but I have no idea what they think anymore (and the people I know who do the best in SMP aren't necessarily those who got interviews there).
-Find a place to live. People should start messaging on the SMP11 boards, that's where I found my roomies/house. If not, craigslist, etc. Surrounding neighborhoods like Burleith and stuff, but I just live 3 blocks from campus. Cheapest rent will be like $750/mo for a room in a shared house, probably looking at close to $1000/mo sharing apt.
-If there is no way you can physically or financially look at places (i.e. west-coasters), try to find fellow SMPs to room with who can check out places for you.
-People live all over the place, from Rosslyn and Burleith, around campus, in Virginia, etc. No consensus. The campus is just below 36th and R streets, so if you wanna live around campus, go north of there: ascending letters (R -> S -> T, etc.). You can pretty much figure out how close your place is just knowing this approx location, as well as google mapping.
July: -Finish all the secondaries you get before the program. They are a pain in the ass to do while in class.
-Chill. Do not try to pre-prep, you'll burn out, and it's probably useless. Move-in end of month if possible (I didn't move in till day b4 orientation).
August: -Orientation is first week of Aug I think. Get your logistics handled, figure out where class is. Decide if you want to run for a class officer. Make connections, etc.
-Loans probably won't be handed out till after the fact. We didn't get loans until August 22? last year (they had us on undergrad calendar). So basically we were supposed to have paid tuition by Aug 15?, but they let everyone pay it a month later (it was financial aid's problem anyways).
Loan amounts:
-Full amount last year was ~$67,000. Most people (including me) just took the full amount. Better safe than sorry. It's about $11k subsidized stafford (no interest), $11k unsub stafford (6% APR), rest is grad plus loan (8% APR). You just fill out form they gave you in acceptance letter, and then apply thru fin aid website to a lender.
-Probably only need $58k (tuition 45k, rent 9k, live like hermit on rest). How much you take out depends on your budget, saving, etc. This will change the amount of your grad plus loan, which has the ****tiest interest rate.
I remember not feeling ready going into a lot of tests, but it all worked out fine in the end. It's the same thing in med school. The SMP does make things easier for M1, but I still have to work pretty hard to do well. Good luck to you all and PM if you have any questions.
