USDA Loan, first time home buyer guidance

Hi all, I’m 24 and looking into purchasing my first home in a few months. I’ve always wanted to live in the country so when I heard about USDA loan I was ecstatic. I had an appointment at a PNC branch to learn more, but they were unprepared and were not able to answer my questions.

Here are my questions: – as this is my first time, I’m not sure how buying a home really works. I always thought you would get pre-approved for a loan, and then start looking in that price range (but when I was filling out an application they asked for my home of interest), do you look first? How long does approval take? – Do I even qualify? for TX, I believe you qualify as low income if you make under 70k. I currently make $61k (but am expected to get a raise this July.. hopefully not pushing me over the limit). I have a 720 credit score and have $27k in student loans and $7k in credit cards (I’m working on it, I did not have help throughout college and dug myself in a bit of debt. But it could be worse). I have a masters degree and just started my first job in October (although I interned at my current job in 2021 and worked there for a few months up until my start date in 2022) I mention this bc I believe you need a 2 year work history. I am hoping to get a home in Fort bend county. – can I apply for this loan directly with USDA? Or do I have to go through a 3rd party lender?

Thank you for taking the time to even read this. I really appreciate any guidance you can provide.