I'm a student until the end of 2015, and I'm not going to be able to work full-time during my last semester, but I will still have enough spare time to keep working (I do freelance web/graphic design, and photography) and attempt to start my REI career.  

The rates on a 203k loan are higher than other owner-occupied loans due to the higher risk the lender is undertaking, so if your plan is to hold long term, it's best to get out of that loan and into something else sooner rather than later.

@Calvin LinThink of your question from a passive investor point of view: would LP entrust money to someone to invest into an undertaking that they've never done before?! 

See info graphic below.

But first things first--I need to estimate rehab costs for the entire project undertaking before I can even move forward with this daydream of mine.

At the most basic level, if it is an expensive and large undertaking, it is probably more capital in nature versus a less expensive job that will likely occur several times over the life of the asset,  which indicates it might be an expense that can be deductible in the year paid (and charging to your credit card is paid for deduction purposes).  

Around here, undertaking a renovation would require you to remove the knob-n-tube in the parts of the property being renovated.

Yeah, its just an 11x18 inch car door magnet with a faint graphic of a house in the background with "WE BUY HOUSES" in big red lettering, any condition-any area right underneath in black and my phone number right beneath that.

I'm going to read between the lines and say that you want to flip houses in OC but do not have the financial resources to commit to such a huge undertaking (purch/rehab/holding costs, etc.?).

Then they undertake a full renovation - a HIGH LEVEL renovation eliminating deferred maintenance.