sleepdr

Don't plan to buy any software. Many universities have digital copies available for you once you are a student because of their licensing agreements. It is possible that you can get all of the software you need for free through them. Tablets and electronics are the best for this funding, you will want to buy a brand new computer for your office and set it up with two monitors. Your productivity will skyrocket. Or you will become a more efficient redditor one of the two.

my funding offers have been in the range of 15-17k per year as a stipend and there are always fellowship and scholarship opportunities as well. in one city the stipend is livable and in the other it is only livable if you have three roommates. which actually is not that bad because the spaces are large and have private rooms, and rent can be driven down to about 300/month. i guess the best way to approach it is to plan a lifestyle around the stipend - you can usually earn extra money on the side, like i run a tutoring business. get creative!

one was social, another was cognitive. iirc some others i knew got accepted blindly into education and developmental programs as well.

not all schools do interviews. a few of my friends were accepted to programs out of the blue in late march having never interviewed last year. so, don't count yourself out yet.