Inyo

I was a big fan of the essay writing advice in Kaplan's main GRE book. It helped me focus my writing into a style that clearly benefitted me on the GRE.
 
The issue is that a "good" essay may or may not receive a good score for the GRE. In my undergrad classes (including courses far from my specialities), professors frequently complimented me on my writing. I write very well, but I write best in non-traditional formats (eg, I loathe the 5 paragraph essay!). I got a 4.5 on the writing section the first time I tackled the GRE. That's a fine score, but below where I should have been.
 
The second time around, I followed Kaplan's advice. I wrote for the ENTIRE time, even if I felt like I'd already made the best points (a longer essay is almost always scored higher than a shorter one). I used uncessesarily large vocabularly words and highly complex sentence structure (which I frown upon as a scientist. If you can say something simply, say it simply!). For both essays I used the template structure suggested by Kaplan. I got a 5.5 writing what I thought were rather crap essays, but I had followed "The Kaplan Method ."
 
Tl;dr: Follow the methods from prep companies.

I was a big fan of the essay writing advice in Kaplan's main GRE book. It helped me focus my writing into a style that clearly benefitted me on the GRE.
 
The issue is that a "good" essay may or may not receive a good score for the GRE. In my undergrad classes (including courses far from my specialities), professors frequently complimented me on my writing. I write very well, but I write best in non-traditional formats (eg, I loathe the 5 paragraph essay!). I got a 4.5 on the writing section the first time I tackled the GRE. That's a fine score, but below where I should have been.
 
The second time around, I followed Kaplan's advice. I wrote for the ENTIRE time, even if I felt like I'd already made the best points (a longer essay is almost always scored higher than a shorter one). I used uncessesarily large vocabularly words and highly complex sentence structure (which I frown upon as a scientist. If you can say something simply, say it simply!). For both essays I used the template structure suggested by Kaplan. I got a 5.5 writing what I thought were rather crap essays, but I had followed "The Kaplan Method ."
 
Tl;dr: Follow the methods from prep companies.

You can still get the loans if you are enrolled full time, and the FAFSA is the first step. You should also be able to contact your institution's financial aid office for assistance with the loans. 
 
Depending on your field, I'd advise against taking out so many loans. It's often better to adjust your standard of living downward while in school than to take out loans (even if you fully expect to be able to pay them pack). No matter what, the interest on the loans is lost money.

You can still get the loans if you are enrolled full time, and the FAFSA is the first step. You should also be able to contact your institution's financial aid office for assistance with the loans. 
 
Depending on your field, I'd advise against taking out so many loans. It's often better to adjust your standard of living downward while in school than to take out loans (even if you fully expect to be able to pay them pack). No matter what, the interest on the loans is lost money.

I was a big fan of the essay writing advice in Kaplan's main GRE book. It helped me focus my writing into a style that clearly benefitted me on the GRE.
 
The issue is that a "good" essay may or may not receive a good score for the GRE. In my undergrad classes (including courses far from my specialities), professors frequently complimented me on my writing. I write very well, but I write best in non-traditional formats (eg, I loathe the 5 paragraph essay!). I got a 4.5 on the writing section the first time I tackled the GRE. That's a fine score, but below where I should have been.
 
The second time around, I followed Kaplan's advice. I wrote for the ENTIRE time, even if I felt like I'd already made the best points (a longer essay is almost always scored higher than a shorter one). I used uncessesarily large vocabularly words and highly complex sentence structure (which I frown upon as a scientist. If you can say something simply, say it simply!). For both essays I used the template structure suggested by Kaplan. I got a 5.5 writing what I thought were rather crap essays, but I had followed "The Kaplan Method ."
 
Tl;dr: Follow the methods from prep companies.

I currently teach in a pretty awesome teaching job (as far as the high school world goes), and one of my coworkers as a ~ 2 hour each way commute this year. It has absolutely exhausted him this year. He is phenomenal at his job, and I'm sure the school offered him piles of money to stay (private schools can do that!), but he's leaving after just one year. 
 
The (rather large) straw that broke the camel's back was his wife getting pregnant with their first child. She needs to live close to her (better paying) job, so moving isn't an option. He made it clear that the 2 hour commute + small child was absolutely unfathomable, even though he had been coping with the 2 hour commute for a while.
 
Now, all of that said, not to be harsh, but IVF doesn't have great success rates, making it quite hard to time a pregnancy. You may find that you can't get pregnant at all. Or you may end up with twins or another type of complication (which is more common with IVF) that prevents you from attending school after 4 or 5 months. 
 
This cuts both ways: I'd hesitate to give up the option of a school that might be a better fit for a child that might never come to be. I'd also be wary of having to commute so far while going through those medical procedures, because it will add additional stress to an already very stressful process. 
 
Fertility treatments can wreck havoc on your emotional state (both for psychological reasons and physiological ones--hormones CAN do crazy things to you). Infertility is hard, and there are no easy answers. I'd sit down and talk to your spouse about how you could handle all of these stresses. Maybe talk to a couple's therapist who works with couples going through infertility treatments (your doc should be able to recommend someone). I think the issue here is more complicated than just the commute, the pros and cons of each school, and the possibility of a baby. You have to decide what is best for your family, which is always a hard question. 

Oh yes. But the worst is places that manage to be both very cold in winter and very hot and humid in the summer (I'm looking at you, mid-western US). 
 
Layers and good boots (with good warm socks) will keep you covered in the cold. There's not much you can do when it's hot and sticky!