Well, if a non-pro can weigh in here - get what you can afford. Whatever you do, DON'T go deep in debt right off trying to buy "The Best" or even all shiny new stuff - you'll spend a big chunk of your career paying it off - or worse - if the career choice doesn't go as well as planned. You can always upgrade as time - and more importantly money - allows. It'll be easier to sell the old stuff at a small loss when you replace it with better grade stuff, than it will be to sell/pawn the high $$$ stuff at a big loss if the bill collectors come knocking. New is not always necessary, there's lots of great used stuff out there with plenty of life left for a fraction of the new cost - you just have to take the time to look.
Personally to start, I'd go no lower than Craftsman on the quality scale (which is good quality generally anyway). Avoid, in general, the Harbor Freight, weekend truckload sale, ChiCom stuff. There are exceptions of course. Fleabay can be a great source for "less-than-new" quality stuff IF you're up to speed on the street value of what's being sold, and don't fall easily for bidding wars trying to be a "winner" at any cost.
For new stuff, Sears/Craftsman has some killer deals on big combined sets from time to time - just be sure to check what's really in the sets (Sears loves to fill some sets with hex keys, nut drivers, hacksaw blades, etc and count them individually in the "tool total"). If a big discount is available to you as a student from the drool-tool trucks, look at picking up a few of the high use/high importance-for-quality stuff like a few ratchets, few air tools, specialty tools, specialty sockets, etc. Just don't go overboard.
Same on tool storage - while that shiny new mega-small-car sized roll cab might allow for plenty of room to grow into, you may well find that the payments won't allow for filling the drawers. I'm not too surprised by all the "like new" mega-cabinets I see advertised locally and on fleabay - the cool factor overrode common sense and the wallet, then reality set in and up they go from people desperate to get out from under the mega-sized payments.
All just IMHO of course.
