Rolls of the Non-Kaiser Persuasion:
It doesn't make sense to carry everything you own with you everyday. A knife roll that's not too large to carry just what you need on a given day makes sense for school.
Messermeister rolls are inexpensive, everyone uses them, and they come in enough colors and patterns that yours can remain distinct. Every girl needs an LBD, but not an LBKR.
Koobi rolls are fantastic. They're better than Messers. Colors but not patterns. Probably not worth difference for a student.
Yak Pak come in the best patterns, are extremely well made, and decently priced. Good luck finding them. Everyone seems to be out.
If the school forces you to buy a "decorating kit" with a lot of small tools, it will usually come with its own bag.
Tool boxes are great. The newer heavy-duty plastic ones are built with flat tops (recessed handles doncha know) so you can stack and bungee them on a little cart. If you have to schlepp a lot of stuff, it's the way to go. You may want to use a knife roll or two along with your tool boxes to protect your edges.
Things They Never 'Splain:
They'll tell you about the fish spat, offset pallette knives, heat resistant silicone spats, and a lot of other things. But there are a couple of small tools that might not mention.
French Whisk -- Take it from an old (ex) saucier, buy yourself one of these beauties. They're not necessarily sold as "French," so recognize them by their stiff, heavy tines as opposed to the piano wire tines on "balloon whisks" and the girly whisks sold for home cooks. A French whisk can stand up to any task, and is the whisk you'll use for everything other than whipping egg whites and cream,
Melon baller -- 'nuff said.
Vegetable peeler -- ALWAYS carry several of whatever you're most ocmforatble with, so you always have a sharp one. If you like the 79ct ones, so much the better. Just make sure you have what you like -- new and sharp. A dull one can wreck your hand and your day.
Can opener -- you probably won't need it for school, but you always want one. Think everyone has one in the kitchen? Nope.
"Church Key" bottle opener/ can piercer -- Need, need, need.
Emergency Knife Repair and Sharpening Stone or Gizmo) -- Norton IC-8 or IB-8 is the way to go if you can sharpen. If not, you'll need a gizmo. It's for emergencies, and not necessarily a part of your routine knife maintenance kit -- neither is it your steel. So if it's on the aggressive side, that's alright. Whatever you carry, you should be able to use it.
Second to Last Piece of Unsolicited Advice: Don't spend a fortune on knives. If the school store sells Shun, resist the pressure. Similarly don't let them talk you into any of the high-zoot Germans either. Not yet. If you must use German style, heavy, forged knives Mundial are fine for school.
Heavy knives (except for a few limited purposes) are old school. The modern trend among skilled cutters is to use lighter, more comfortable knives which can be made signficantly sharper and hold their edges better than the heavy, old fashioned knives.
Quality matters a lot for the chef's knife. Otherwise, not so much. You want something that gets very sharp, won't make you fight it, and doesn't cost a lot. Forschner rocks. If I were sending a daughter it would be with Forschner Rosewood or Fibrox for everything except a Japanese made, French profile chef's.
For the chef's, something like a Togiharu Moly, Misono Moly, or even splurge a little on something like a Tagayaki VG-10. A good chef's knife makes a huge difference. Go 24cm (or 10" on a Euro) with the chef's, not shorter. The school should actually teach the grip well enough that the length isn't a problem. On the other hand, don't go all macho and buy a 12 incher.
You can and will buy better "core" knives once you've figured out what you really like.
Last Piece of Unsolicited Advice:
LEARN TO SHARPEN AND LEARN WELL YOUNG PADWAN. Sharp knives are a pro's friend. Dull knives will destroy your hand and wrist while sucking the joy out of prep. Don't wait for the school to teach you. Even if they do, they won't do a good job.
Sharpening freehand on bench stones is a useful skill for any pro. If you find stones too intimidating, buy and Edge Pro Apex. If an EP is too expensive, at least get a Chef's Choice electric.
OK, I lied. One More Thing:
PM FrenchFries. He started school last year, like you as an adult. He's beaucoup smart and nice and can help with you a lot of things which go beyond knife rolls.
Hope this helps,
BDL