I can't help with SF, but I've been looking in the Boston-North area for a while, and in my experience apartment companies require a years worth of proof so that you can prove you can pay off the lease. I dropped the apartment market a while back and have been strictly looking at condos - which do require a more stringent investigation into your finances.

Is living in SF a must - how are the burbs or just outside of SF comparable? You may be able to find something for less a month and also easier on the financial investigation.

Best of luck.