The advice I'd give to all students is where possible, buy an acoustic drum kit. Of course, the glaringly obvious problem with acoustic drums is their volume. Under certain conditions, you may be fine playing the drums 'normally', but this is only usually an option for detached houses with plenty of space between neighbours.
Thankfully, over the last few years manufacturers have really stepped up their game and come up with products it seems hard to believe haven't existed for years - here's a rundown of what you may need to keep the neighbours happy!
Low Volume Drum Heads
If you have bought a regular-sized acoustic drum kit, you can easily swap out the drum heads for 'low volume' heads, keeping the layout and feel of the kit the same, while still retaining the option of switching back to full volume whenever you need to.
There's two main options here, but both options essentially replace the plastic mylar material of a drum head with mesh, which are basically the same heads used on good quality electric kits. If making the swap, remember you only need to change over the top, or 'batter', heads on your kit. Keeping the bottom 'resonant' heads mean you'll still hear a small amount of tone from each drum.
Simple Mesh Heads
The cheapest options available are simply mesh material heads made to the same sizes as your original drum heads. A pack of these will set you back roughly £100 for the full kit, but unless mistreated shouldn't ever get damaged or worn out. Brands to look out for include Remo SilentStroke, and there are cheaper non-branded alternatives available.
Evans dB One
While simple mesh heads are great, they do feel a little different - compared to an electric kit, the use of full sized drums with these heads is still preferable but there's still a lot more bounce with these heads. In only the last couple of years, drum head manufacturer Evans have added various bits of foam dampening and impact patches to improve the feel of these heads. There is also an increase in volume, but these heads still keep a full acoustic drum kit well below the volume of your TV, for example.
With this added technology comes a higher price, with a full set coming in at £165 compared to the £100 or so for regular mesh heads. I've not had the chance to use these heads myself but have only heard great things about them. If you're unsure, definitely go and visit a drum store who'll most likely have a set installed on a kit for you to try out.
Low Volume Cymbals
While the majority of the 'offensive' volume and thud comes from the drums on an acoustic kit, the cymbals make up most of the painful high frequencies, and if your drums are going to be massively reduced in volume, you'll need to alter the cymbals too. You've got two main options here, and as with the heads, the second option listed below is the preferable one.
Cymbal Mutes
If you already have cymbals with the kit you've purchased, the cheapest option to reduce their volume is with mutes. Firstly, you can buy rubber mutes such as the Evans SoundOff which sit on top of the cymbal, usually covering just the main striking area of the cymbal. These drastically reduce the volume, but from experience they can make the feel of the hi-hats and ride less realistic.
Alternatively, there's a company called Cymbomute who make bands that fit around just the outer edge of each cymbal, leaving the main playing area unaffected. The drawback is that you'll still get a high-pitched 'klang' when striking the cymbal, but less of a low pitch thud more common with rubber mutes.
Either one of these solutions will likely set you back between £30 and £50, and mean you can make use of the cymbals you already have rather than buying a whole second set. Probably the biggest drawback to these options though is the playability, which the solution below addresses.
Low Volume Cymbals
As with low volume drum heads, it's incredible that this solution to cymbal volume has only been around for a few years. In simple terms, several manufacturers now make low-volume cymbals by drilling hundreds of tiny holes in to the cymbal. The greatest advantage of these compared to cymbal mutes is that the tone and playing feel of all your cymbals is retained, just at a significantly lower volume. Zildjian L80 cymbals probably lead the way here, but there's several cheaper alternatives which are worth looking in to.
The super-realistic feel does come at a price, with Zildjian's set coming in at £350, and cheaper options such as WHD's offering at £99.
Conclusions
Overall, with big advances in low-volume technology, I really feel an acoustic kit with noise control is a better option for most people than an electric kit. It's important to note though that these options don't totally eliminate the volume, and more importantly the 'thud' and vibration, of an acoustic kit. If you're in a flat or setting up right next to the neighbour's wall, you may still need to be careful to avoid these vibrations travelling through the floorboards, though setting a kit up away from joining walls and on the ground floor should keep any potential issues under control.
Consistent with my advice for any drum kit option is to go for the best option you can afford. Certainly with low volume cymbals, the almost identical feel and tone is really worth it, and mesh heads are a much better option than cheap rubber pads that sit on drum heads, as these almost increase the thud of the drum in return for taking away the volume.
Google and YouTube are packed full of hands-on reviews of all of the solutions above so it'll pay to do some research to see what option will be best for you.