Considering I am a college student (not art though) I would like wc supplies most appropriate for my usage level, since professional paints seems absolutely overkill with those lightfastness and pigment quality.

I am not starting out, I have my own set of paints but they're school grade (Maries) from high school. The pigments are now problematic because of age and poor quality from the start, such as pigment and binder separation from some of the paints.