[Blake_Emigro]

You can keep your costs down by doing a lot of your own research, but there are still shortcuts and pitfalls that you can be made aware of by getting some professional advice. My recommendation is having a paid consult at the beginning of your research, and then near the end before submitting an application. The people of forums can typically only talk about their own experience based on their own profile / program / timing, which will not be exactly like yours. I've cleaned up many people's application messes, (I'm not trying to solicit any business for myself.)