Snap-On, Mac and Matco all make great tools. I was sad to learn some are not US-made any more. Cornwell and USA Tool trucks sell decent stuff as well. S-K used to be good, so did Craftsman, I have no idea who makes what and how good or bad they might be nowadays. I have a wide assortment of tools in my box. I have a good amount of Snap-On wrenches, ratchets and socket sets I bought back in the 80's and 90's. I also have a lot of Mac hand tools, 3/8" sockets and ratchets from the same era. I well remember stashing $40.00 out of my pay check in my tool box so I would have the money to pay the tool man when he showed up the next week. I have 2 sets of Kobalt 1/2" sockets and a Kobalt 1/2" ratchet and extension set that I got at Lowe's, they have been very good too. I don't turn wrenches and twist wires for a living anymore, those days are long gone but every tool in my box is precious and valuable to me.
My opinion is, even with the Snap-On discount, it might still be better to take the student loan money and at least check out some of the lesser expensive hand tools at Harbor Freight or maybe one of the other online tool stores. I say "hand tools" because I also have a lot of HF wrenches, a couple of their ratchets and other non-electric hand tools that I bought at HF. The Pittsburgh brand seems to be excellent quality, even if it is made in China or Taiwan, or wherever else it is made. I have had very good luck with the fully-polished style of HF wrenches I have bought. Their cheaper panel style wrenches may not be as good. You have to be very careful with anything from HF that is electric, though. Their electric tools like electric drills, saws, grinders, etc and the like may or may not stand up to everyday hard use in a professional setting. However I have read some good reviews on HF air tools, I read their Earthquake line of impact wrenches is pretty good. My set of Craftsman Professional Series screwdrivers are the very best I have ever used, and that includes Snap-On, Mac and all the others. I have a few Duralast tools I got at Autozone, they are good quality too, I have a Duralast 3/8" torque wrench that has been excellent quality for what I need it for here at home but I have no idea how it would hold up in a pro shop environment. That doesn't matter to me, I got the wrench for free with my AZ reward points.
Here is how I see it: If it were me, and I were a younger guy with a wife and baby at home, I would stretch that student loan money as far as possible. You can get a lot more for your money at HF, and also by shopping around at the local pawn shops, Craigslist, Ebay, etc. Later on in life, as you get further into your career you can buy the good quality Snap-On pro tools if you want. Right now you have a family to support and it makes more sense to me to buy what you need in a decent brand but you don't necessarily need to buy the most expensive just because Snappy offers a discount. Back in the day the Snap-On student sets were sets that you could buy but the sets contained tools that Snap-On put in the set; you were not allowed to pick and choose what you wanted to buy. I don't know if it is like that today.
I have always heard it said, it's not the tools, it's the man using the tools that makes the difference. You can do just as good a job with a $5.00 Craftsman or Pittsburgh wrench in your hand as you can with a genuine Snap-On $50.00 wrench. The difference is you will still have money in your pocket to stop at the grocery store on the way home.
My other opinion on this is to not go nuts buying an expensive Snap-On or other pro brand tool box. The boxes at HF are excellent quality, have great prices and would do just fine for at least a few years when you start out working in a shop. Later on in your career if you want a good quality Snap-On box you can save up and pay cash for a new or used one off the truck, Craigslist, EBay, or maybe at a pawn shop or swap meet. Back in the day my Snap-On man almost always had a used box for sale on the truck or in his garage at home. So did the Mac man too. There is a similar old saying that goes "It's not the box, it's the tools in the box that gets the job done."
This is just my 2 cents on it. If it were me, I would try to buy what you need to get started, spend as smartly as possible, start your training and be dead solid sure this is what you want to do for a living for the next 30 or 40 years and go from there. Later on as you get further into your career and buy better quality tools, you can take your older, less expensive tools home for use in your own garage. That's how I see it. Others here and elsewhere will see it differently.
