[Cheaper Alma Mater or Take a Chance on Bigger School?]

Personally, I would steer you towards a cheap state school, or wherever you get the best financial aid package. There's no need to graduate with crushing debt if you don't need to.

[Anatomy Coloring Books]

My speech neurology professor recommended the Netter’s Anatomy Coloring Book and I love mine! Netter’s has a few different books and I prefer the Anatomy over the Neuroscience one for speech stuff. Of course there is a lot more covered than the speech mechanisms but it helped me visualize the larynx since my teacher rarely used diagrams that were in relation to the body as a whole.  Netter’s Anatomy Hope that helps!
 

[The Positivity Thread]

I had a old 3D Printer that I built years ago..used it 3 times got mad at it and left it on the shelf.. So i bought a new one. 

[What should I purchase?]

A tablet computer (like a Surface Pro), Moleskine for handwritten notes, Zotero to keep all the stuff I have to read organized, RStudio for (almost) all the statistical analyses I have to do, and a LaTeX editor for all the papers I have to write. As for textbooks, I haven't had more than a few in my 6 years of graduate school and I doubt that will change any time soon. 

[How do PhD students usually spend their summers?]

Like others have said, it's time to work on research and catch up on academic reading. Other popular summer options: teach summer classes, attend institutes offered by national/international organizations, and attend conferences. I usually fit in a trip to see family at some point and a few satisfying days of doing absolutely nothing.  

[Campus housing and meal plans]

I can't speak from experience, but my coworker with a family moved from off-campus to on-campus housing and loved it. It was cheaper than the townhouse they had been renting, and he could walk in every day instead of being dropped off by his wife.