DC is expensive. No real way around that, except maybe cramming a whole bunch of people into a house.
Housing in Georgetown is kind of a pain. The only on-campus housing is for undergrad freshmen, and the neighborhoods surrounding the medical center side of the campus (Burleith, Glover park, Foxhall village) are mostly townhouses. Burleith is the closest. Some of the townhouses do have basement (aka "garden") apartments for rent. Sometimes these are also called "english basements". Around $1,000-1,200/month plus utilities would be around average for these (yes, these are studios). Craigslist is probably your best bet, although there is also an office on campus to help off-campus students find housing.
The nearest high rise apartment buildings are across the river, in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, VA. A lot of people lived at River Place. The free Georgetown shuttle (GUTS bus) runs from the rosslyn metro stop to the Leavey center on campus. It also runs from the Dupont circle metro stop. So, in theory, you could live anywhere along the blue, orange or red lines and then take the bus from the metro to school. I wouldn't recommend this if you aren't familiar with the area though.
Oh yeah, there is also zero on campus parking for students. You can park on the street and use the meters, but this is only for good for 2 hours (unless you keep going back out to feed the meter). DC parking is also enforced like no other, FYI. There are some bike racks available, if you want to ride a bike to campus from a further out area of DC.
Hope that helps you out. Good luck with the SMP!
