Hey
ozawa! So glad someone is picking this up for this upcoming class! I'd love to share my experience applying to Consortium schools last year. Since your experience was probably like mine being mostly virtual you may be able to relate.
1) Take advantage of MAPSTalk to as many schools as you can during these sessions. Follow up with students to get more insights.
2) Attend Diversity ConferencesA lot of schools have these weekend events where you can get to know professors, and current students. I know it can be draining sitting in front of a screen for a weekend, but it was well worth it for me to get to know the culture of the school
3) Start Essays Early and find an accountability friendYou're first draft is not going to be good enough. Having someone you commit to review your essays with keeps you motivated to working towards writing essays. I wrote essays for 6 schools and it was VERY draining, so I highly recommend getting started early, and doing it incrementally.
I also started a slack channel where applicants can talk to current students. Check it out here:
https://join.slack.com/t/consortiumappl ... naHJ8laV0A