Thanks @fernandes, good tips and information here.
On the topic of the letters of recommendation, is it considered bad form to not have any of your previous profs on the list? I was thinking of having current supervisors/faculty write my letters, but I could reach out to some profs, though it has been a while. I'm not sure of the consensus on that one.
Also, when you said contacting profs ahead of time, you mean the ones who will be at your grad school, correct? Just contacting them about the program and such?